Fine and Fun
by Zuzu's Petals
Summary: Moonlighting is one of my all-time favorite TV shows and I've finally gotten around to writing fanfic for it. Whoo-hoo! This is an alternate version of the season 3 episode called "Symphony in Knocked Flat"...because it's all about the David/Maddie relationship! Enjoy! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Dedicated to Moonlighting fans everywhere!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Disclaimer-I did not create and I do not own _Moonlighting_ , its plots or its characters. I am borrowing them for my writing pleasure and hopefully your reading pleasure!

 **FINE AND FUN**

 **from the** _ **Moonlighting**_ **,** _ **an**_ _ **Alternate Universe**_ **series**

 **Chapter One:**

 **In the beginning…**

Storming into her bedroom one Friday afternoon, Maddie dropped her purse on the vanity table, took off her clothes, and tossed them in a chair. She pulled on the gown still on the bed from the night before and flopped down on top of the covers. She didn't usually nap when she came home from work, nor was she usually home from work this early, but she needed to stop thinking for at least fifteen minutes. Her associate, known as one David Addison, Jr., the ultimate pain in her ass, had been extra _Dave_ -like today. Mercilessly so. On purpose! She was sure of it. They'd had one of their usual silly circular arguments during which her head felt hot and she wanted nothing more than to tear the smirk off his face. It was one of those arguments when there was an edge to David's snappy replies that meant he was serious about what he was saying under all that snark, which put her on the defensive, which made her angrier. When she felt herself completely losing her composure, she left. Just like that. She was the damn boss so she could do that if she pleased. Maddie just thanked...the universe or whatever that there were no client meetings scheduled that day, nor did she care if she missed any prospective clients' calls. She just _had_ to get away from that man! If she had to listen to one more innuendo or wisecrack out of that mouth while being raked over by those coolly assessing green eyes, she didn't know what she'd do besides beat him to death with her purse. And in her madness she'd probably turn on Agnes, Bert and the...what did he call them? – _Wobblies, a_ nd beat them out of existence too. Of course that might not be entirely fair since Agnes actually worked. Bert too, more or less. But the rest of that group...she should have fired every last one by now but that damn David always tricked her out of it! The man was simply insufferable and Maddie didn't understand why she put up with him for as long as she had, or why she apparently would continue to do so indefinitely.

In the middle of their exchange she stopped talking and silently gathered her things. When she grabbed the doorknob, David treated her to another dose of his special brand of mockery.

"Hey Blondie, we're still talking but you start walking. And I see you're holding your nose up so high right now, it's lost in the o-zone. You trying to see how rude you can get? Because I'll tell ya free of charge, lady, it's plenty much. And tell me this, what kind of professional example are you setting for your employees when you leave _in the middle of the day_ and there's work to do, Princess I'm The Most Perfect of Them All?

His tone told her _he_ had the gall to be annoyed with _her!_ It took all the maturity she possessed not to snarl the meanest insults against his manhood she could think of. She slowly turned, still gripping the doorknob, and pinned him with a blue glare cold enough to freeze fire. "Since those freeloaders of yours barely notice the work I pay them to do - thanks to you, _King_ of Slackers - I doubt my comings and goings make any difference. So here's a professional example for _you_ \- kiss my ass, Addison!" And with that she flew out of her office slamming the door in his face. Wisely, he did not follow her. With a disapproving cluck of the tongue, he straightened a picture frame on the wall that was jarred sideways.

As Maddie stalked past the reception desk, Agnes stared with her usual wide-eyed wonder whenever something was amiss between her two bosses. "Ah, have a good weekend, Ms. Hayes!"

"Miss DiPesto, the weekend is merely an extended break after which I have to return to this nonsensical circus, this albatross around my neck masquerading as a detective agency. A _good_ weekend would be one after which I never had to lay eyes on this place or a certain employee _ever_ again."

Agnes blinked and widened her eyes even more, pointing to herself. "Do you mean _me_ , Ms. Hayes?"

" _No_ , Miss DiPesto. Never mind." She left, slamming the front office door too.

~l~u~n~a~r~

Maddie had only lain there for about five minutes when the phone rang. She ignored it until she heard her mother Virginia's voice on the answering machine.

 _~~Maddie honey, when you get this message, please-~~_

She rolled over and snatched up the receiver. "Hi, Mom, I'm here."

"Maddie? What's wrong?"

She sat all the way up, sliding feet into her slippers. "Nothing. How about you? You sound upset." She leaned forward a little, her grip tightening. "Is Dad okay?"

"Oh yes, your father is fine. He's taking it easy like the doctor said, but...I do have some very sad news. It's your cousin Annie. She...Annie's gone, honey."

"Gone?"

"There was a car accident." Maddie heard the catch in her voice. "She didn't make it to the hospital."

"Oh my god," she said through her hand. She hadn't spoken to her younger cousin in over a year but now it didn't seem like that long ago. "Oh my god. When?"

"Yesterday."

Maddie set the receiver down on the bedspread and covered her face.

 _~~You both were so close at one time. I'm so sorry, honey….Maddie?~~_

Sniffling, she pick up the receiver again. "I'm here. How's Aunt Gloria? And Mark?"

Gloria was Virginia's younger sister, Annie's mom. Mark was Annie's husband of seven years. The last time Maddie spoke to her Annie said the marriage had turned sour.

There was silence on the line.

"Mom?"

"Neither one is handling it well."

"Of course not. What am I saying? My God, I just can't believe this!"

"I know. But Maddie, there were other things going on with Annie. It's—I'll tell you about it later."

"Do you need me to come home now?"

Virginia sighed sadly. "No, don't. I'll call you as soon as there's a date for the funeral. Go back to whatever you were doing."

"No, we can talk for as long as you want. Is Dad there with you right now?"

"He's right here and I'm fine."

"What about Aunt Ruth?" Ruth was Virginia and Gloria's older sister who was suffering from the middle stages of Alzheimer's in a retirement home in Beverly Hills.

"We're not going to tell her. Why fill her lucid moments with bad news? Besides, she hasn't had any contact with Annie since moving to California over twelve years ago…. Oh, that's Gloria on the other line. I have to go. I'll call you soon, dear. And please visit your Aunt Ruth. She doesn't have anyone else in the family near."

"I will," Maddie replied. "I do. I _have."_

"Yes, well...even more than that." There was faint skepticism in Virginia's response. She knew how engrossed her daughter could be in her own life. Even _she_ sometimes didn't hear from her for weeks.

Maddie swallowed back defensive words, saying instead, _"I will._ I promise. Tell Dad I love him, and I love you too, Mom. _"_

"I will. Love you too, darling. Good-bye."

~l~u~n~a~r~

Slits of Saturday morning sunlight streamed through the closed slats of the blinds and across his face, enough to warm his eyelids. Two seconds later, David felt the pounding in his head from a major hangover. How had he even slept last night? Or did it purposefully wait for him to wake up before starting this relentless drum beat inside his skull? If that wasn't bad enough, he realized his mouth tasted like a filled ashtray. He groaned and gingerly turned over on his other side in the dim bedroom. Ol' Top Cat Addison was just that—too "ol'" for the kind of carousing he'd done last night at Obscenities. He and two other top cats he'd met at his office building's gym had gone to the hot new club on the Strip. The place was everything he'd heard about and then some. It would've been better if some of the music was Doo Wop instead of all that techno pop but the raucous atmosphere was exactly what he needed to dismiss thoughts of the ice coldest blonde he'd ever met from his head. It annoyed him that this was the case. And he'd take to the grave the fact that he only used the gym to vent his frustrations with dealing with her, which was often enough that he was actually getting in shape. But enough of that. She dominated his work week with her frigid attitude and holier-than-thou judgmental speeches, so he'd be damned if a woman like that claimed his attention in absentia on the weekends too, especially if a woman like that wasn't even sharing his bed….

David's eyes suddenly flew open again.

 _...like the stranger he was staring at right now was!_

"Nyuh!" He jerked back and felt bile rising in his throat with the sudden movement. As much as he hated to do it he had to turn on the light, because no way was he attempting to stand up yet just to open the blinds. Every half inch of movement cost him something. He clicked on the lamp and at first all he could see was a lot of tangled red hair. He raised himself up and leaned over to see her face. Okay, now he remembered. This was Nancy. Or Noreen. David yawned, scratching his head, and sat up. He recalled that the extended party in his bedroom had been pleasant enough—like eating a 10-cent cookie from the corner store—but nothing to write home about. However, it wouldn't matter if it had been like savoring a Delmonico steak. To his chagrin these kinds of encounters always left him with a vague sense of dissatisfaction. Well, 'always' meant for the last two years, beginning with City of Angels becoming Blue Moon.

David shook his head like he was shaking out bugs and grabbed it with a moan, instantly regretting the movement. He looked down at the sleeping form again. This was the not-fun part of these trysts and the reason why he preferred to be invited to a woman's house. It was easier to leave someone else's place than to get them out of yours. This situation was particularly more difficult for him because for all his surface crudity, he was a gentleman at heart like his father raised him to be. It made him uncomfortable to kick a woman out and he rarely did, often enduring the morning-after until she was ready to split. Sometimes they hung around until late afternoon if he didn't have anywhere to go. But today he was hung over and feeling less satisfied than usual, and thinking about Cold Stone Hayes more than usual, while in bed with another woman. Unacceptable! Therefore, he wanted said woman gone pronto. Like yesterday.

David lightly tapped her exposed shoulder. "Hey Nan-...ah, Nor...ahhhh—Hey honey, you awake?"

An answer was smothered by a pillow and then she slowly turned over and squinted at him. She had that hard _well-used_ look. Some men liked that but it wasn't particularly appealing to him. The way he felt right now though, he was sure he looked worse. She stretched and yawned without covering her mouth. It was really big. And she had a gap between the two front teeth almost wide enough to fit another tooth. Or had she in fact lost a tooth?

"Hey, sugar." Her smile didn't reach eyes that were too close together. "We can go another round after I get a cup of coffee."

"Ahhh,…as tempting as that sounds, Red, no can do."

Her eyes narrowed unpleasantly. She sat up, adjusted the sheet around her and leaned back against the headboard as if she was making herself comfortable for an extended visit. "Well, you got coffee? I don't get going good without coffee in the morning, so…" She looked at him expectantly.

"Ahhh, I don't got coffee, but what I do got is a parole officer, who has to see my face in half an hour—or else."

She jerked forward. _"A parole officer?_ You told me you were a detective!"

"Well…yeah. When I'm not in jail."

She threw the covers off, jumped out of bed, stalked around to his side and opened the blinds, making him squint. Then she quickly yanked on clothes that had been carelessly discarded on the floor.

"Oh boy, do I know how to pick em'! Look pal, I been down this road with guys like you before and I don't go that way no more. I only deal with guys who got their shit together. You wasted my f*ckin time."

"So sorry." David rubbed his temples because her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

And from the looks of her in the brutally revealing light of day her time wasn't nearly as wasted as _he_ must have been to bring this frightmare home and sleep with it. On top of that she apparently had rather high standards for her one-night stands.

"Ha! You're so sorry? Save it, pal. I should charge you for my time and my precious flesh wasted on you!"

David tried not to show his alarm at realizing he was trapped in his place with a 'real live one.' However, a hangover-induced lack of self-preservation made say, "Umm, I got ten bucks if you need a cab."

" _Ten?!_ You insulting son of a bitch! And you're not even offering to take me home yourself?! You dickless _dick!_ I never want to see you again in my life, you lousy lay! You worthless, lying jailbird! I hope your f*ckin parole officer puts you back in the joint and throws away the damn key! I hope they— _revoke_ your US citizenship _and_ your right to vote, you lousy lay! You dog! You _lying_ jailbird communist _pig! Die!"_

With that she left and slammed the door of his apartment so hard that he could hear something crack in the frame. And in his head, which he grabbed and fell back against the pillows.

Even Maddie never slammed a door _that_ hard.

He was never going back to Obscenities again!

~l~u~n~a~r~

Sunday...

She looked at her watch, using the sensor light by her door. 12:32am. Dr. Jeffrey Kurlen-Jones stalked down her pathway, got in his Mercedes-Benz and aggressively cut in front of another driver as he shot away from the curb. Looking up at the starless night of early morning, Maddie brushed the locks that escaped her upsweep during her brief tussle with Dr. Kurlen-Jones and pulled her short fur more securely around her shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this objectified.

She met the good doctor in a contemporary art gallery downtown where he struck up a conversation with her near an Andy Warhol display. He said all the right things with the right manners and had the right look and an approved profession and obviously, money. He was even the quintessential WASP version of tall, dark and handsome. This had been their first date. He took her to see an evening performance of _Giselle_ by the Los Angeles Ballet and then to a posh restaurant in Bel Air. Maddie let him do most of the talking and, common among men of his status, he talked mostly about himself but at least he wasn't too obnoxious with it. He did eventually get around to asking two questions about her and then went on to state his opinion on a few articles about his profession featured in that week's issue of Time Magazine. In spite of that, he was nearly a perfect gentleman and a pleasant enough companion—until they ordered dessert and after-dinner drinks. Alcohol loosened his tongue a tad too much and he could no longer seem to raise his eyes above her clavicle area. When they arrived at her front door, he became irate when she didn't invite him in for the casual sex he imagined all ex-models were into. He also didn't care for the slap in the face she gave him after he groped her and tried to forcefully kiss her because he 'knew she wanted it.' Then he accused her of being an 'aging, has-been gold-digger.'

How nice. To think she almost missed this experience in favor of a cup of tea and a good book alone at home.

Maybe if she hadn't been distractedly thinking about Annie all night, she would have thought more wisely and called a cab to pick her up from the restaurant. She'd done it before on other bad dates when her escort's behavior took a turn for the worse. She probably shouldn't have gone out at all.

Maddie felt a sudden breeze and finally went inside, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep and forget all about Dr. Potential Rapist, who had no idea how close he'd come to a crippling knee to the groin. Her mother hadn't called back yet to tell her anything else about Annie or the funeral arrangements. If Maddie didn't hear from her tomorrow, she would call her first instead. In the meantime she'd do what she did best: get on with life as it was, right in front of her….

~l~u~n~a~r~

…except when she didn't do what she did best.

Later on she would berate herself but on Monday morning Maddie found herself venting to David Addison, of all people, but without going into the specifics of Saturday night. Maybe she licked too much glue off that stack of envelopes she sealed about an hour ago.

She whirled around to face David. "I don't know what it is! And it's always the same." She folded her arms and started pacing again. "Here comes the PhD, MBA, Lawyer, Mr. Success. They say they want to take me out, show me a good time in the usual places and in the usual ways. Then they get around to the usual cookie-cutter compliments, like 'you're beautiful,' you're special' and 'I've never met anyone like you.' One talking head after another—."

"Sucks to be you, Blondie-blonde." David sat leaning back in his desk chair with that annoying 'Lady,-you-don't-know-what-real-problems-are' look that she hated but was too intent on venting her frustration to care.

"—and I swear to you it almost never fails that they turn out to be either looking for just one thing like you owe it to them; or if they're not trying to get you into bed after knowing you a day, they're so impressed with their own… _impressiveness_ that I feel like a third wheel witnessing the romance between the man and himself! I might as well be table decoration. What is it with men these days?"

"So it sucks to be a man too, huh? Cuz we're obviously the worst thing since death in your book."

"Addison, that's not what I'm saying. Why do I even bother talking to you about anything? Why did I even come in here? Good bye!"

Maddie stalked towards the door but David leaped up and blocked her exit. "Hold it!"

"Addison, get out of my way."

He gave her a placating smile, but with a suspiciously mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Come on, Maddie. I'm listening. I _want_ to be a sounding board for you like you are for me. We're partners, right? Let's talk about this."

Although she didn't move away from the door, she didn't try to leave either. "What's there to talk about?" She started pacing again. _"Some_ men are shallow and callous and their manners are more slick and calculating than genuine. What happened to a man bringing you flowers and holding your hand without trying to hold anything else? What happened to looking into a woman's eyes and not below her neck, while actually listening to what she's saying, like he gives a damn what she thinks, about anything?"

Shaking his head, David shoved his hands in his pockets. "I don't know, partner, but, ah—where are you finding these not-paragons of virtue?"

"I don't find them. They find me."

"Come on, Maddie. There has to be a common thread here. You're approached by these guys in those upscale joints you hang out in—"

"I don't _hang out_ anywhere. That's what _you_ do, like an alley cat in an alley."

"I'm trying to help you and you're slinging insults. Which is kinda odd, but I know that's your thing when I slice too close to the bone. Let me ask you this—" he said quickly, when he saw that tell-tale flash in her baby blues. "Would you be subject to such uncouthness if you didn't say 'yes' to that kind of guy?"

"What 'kind of guy?' What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. If rubbing shoulders, and other body parts, with doctors, lawyers and injun chiefs leaves you less than satisfied, maybe you should expand your horizons."

Leaning against his desk, Maddie gave him a droll look. "Oh, really? Define 'expand horizons.'"

He briefly looked away from her with a self-deprecating smile, mute for several beats and then, "When are you going to give men who'll really appreciate you a chance, Maddie?"

Something in his manner made her stand up attentively. "Whenever he appears," she said quietly. "But tell me this, how will I recognize him?"

One of those fleeting moments of communion passed between them but almost as if by mutual agreement his mocking smirk reappeared at the same time she put a hand on her hip and continued skeptically,

"I'm waiting. Where's the big reveal from David Addison channeling Dr. Joyce Brothers?"

"Well, it's simple, boss lady. You _won't_ recognize him. Because you're a snob." With that, he moved around her and sat in his chair, putting his feet up.

"Excuse me." She dragged out the words, warningly.

"You heard me. And you don't need _me_ to excuse you. I'm not the one who'll accept nothing less than some blueblood or captain of industry driving me around in a shiny black Rolls, with the family crest on the front grill, and dinner at a joint charging a hundred bucks for a plate of garnish with three shrimp on the side. Your kind of guy's worth is all in what he has, not who he is. _Inside._ He doesn't even know who he is without all that pomp and circumstance, and he really couldn't care less who _you_ are without it either. That is the kind of man ex-model Maddie Hayes dates. What does that say about her?"

"Let me help you out of your self-delusion, mister. You know less than half of what you think you know, especially about me. You don't know the men I date."

David spread his hands. "Hm, that's funny—because you just spent the last fifteen minutes telling me _exactly_ who you date, Maddie."

"I can't have a simple conversation with you without you acting like a jerk or a joke! I tell you one little thing and your pea brain proceeds to cast me in your imaginary show about some vain ditz who wouldn't know a good thing if it bit her."

She was so irked that she didn't heed the anticipatory twinkle in his eyes as he got up and moved towards her.

"You said it, Blondie. I didn't."

"You are the most annoying person on this planet! How can you stand your own company? You – " she paused. "Ohhhh…." She turned slowly away and back with a smile. "I see."

David wasn't sure where this was going. "What?"

"You're jealous."

"Okay, now we're in _your_ imaginary show! Here are the facts. You don't know how to date; your own experience is the proof in the mud. You don't know how to have a good time _period."_

"Ha! A good time to you is picking up some straggler in a bar and taking her back to your apartment at 2am with crusty sheets on your bed!"

David frowned a little. ~ _Did she spy on me this Friday night?~_ He shuddered inside at the thought of her ever knowing how low he'd gone. And that incident wasn't even the lowest.

"Irrelevent speculation in order to deflect!" he crowed. "Lady, I'm talking about real people being real with each other socially; not dressing up for some costume ball, sitting there like a grinning mannequin, and enduring a boring evening with some bland stiff in hopes he'll sweep you off your feet, so you can shop at Neiman-Marcus every day. Do you have _any_ idea how to have real fun as a real person, Maddie?"

"As a real person, I'm about to really punch your head off your neck! How about that? You act like there's something wrong with dating _up,_ like I'm some sort of empty shell if I don't jump up and down with gratitude when the coat-check boy winks or the construction worker whistles _._ And you act like just because I grew up in Oak Park that I can't handle myself on the South Side. I can and _I have._ I bet I could 'out-fun' you. And I know how to do fun _right._ Fun doesn't have to be sleazy. You, on the other hand, would be lost like Dorothy and Toto where _I_ go for a fine time."

David saw his opening and moved in for the kill. "And I'll take you up on that bet, Madolyn."

She blinked, then recovered with a small laugh. "What are you talking about?"

"What you just said." He dramatically swept a hand over himself. "I'll show you the sophistication beneath the rugged exterior."

"The _what_ beneath the _what?"_ Maddie said, her anger dissipating into amusement at the ridiculous image of joke-a-minute Addison trying to act refined.

"You heard me. And after I prove you wrong, on so _many_ levels, you show me how Maddie Hayes gets down, and we'll see who has the finest or the 'funnest' time. Deal?" He held his hand out.

Folding her arms, she looked at him like he was trying to trick her. "No. I don't have to prove anything. And you _can't_ prove anything, so what's the point?"

"Okay. Then you concede that the reason your love life stinks is because you're as boring and soulless as the men you go out with. So the problem is you. Noted. Now as I have work to do, boss lady, would you—?" David gestured towards the door.

It looked to him like black smoke was coming from the top of her head. She stalked over and poked him in the chest, making him take a step back. "Everything you see in this place, I own, you little sub-human," she said between clenched teeth. "You don't tell me to leave this office, and you don't tell me when you're going to do _work._ Because I'd have to see such a rare occurrence to believe it. Got it!"

He smirked at her dismissively. "Sure thing, boss lady."

"Stop calling me that! You know deep down inside that sunken chest of yours that you'd lose this ludicrous bet, Addison."

She must be joking! He knew damn well his pecs were okay. He'd been faithful to that gym—more faithful than any woman had ever been to _him._

 _~Whoa. Where'd that bitter little aside come from? Let's get back to our regular programming, shall we?...~_

"Let's cut to the chase, Maddie. Are you or are you not up to this challenge, or _any_ challenge, outside your safe vanilla world?"

David had her crowded against the door again and Maddie eased away from his disorienting closeness.

"There's been nothing vanilla about my world, pal, since I walked into this money-sucking dump. Do you even know what a fine date is?"

"Why, Ms. Hayes! I didn't say anything about a _date_ but if you insist, I can accommodate.

"You wish!"

He held up his hands. "Okay, semantics. Yes, I know what you consider a fine evening, and I can execute such an evening walking backwards blindfolded in a maze. The real question our viewing audience has been knockin' their noggins about since the Pilot episode is – 'Does Madolyn Straight Arrow Hayes know anything about fun?'"

"Oh I know tons about fun. I also happen to know that life isn't one big punchline 24/7, unlike some people."

"Oh yeah? Prove it. You vs. me, lady."

"David, I'm not into silly bets."

He didn't mind that. He remembered the last time they were involved in a bet and how he felt that sickening drop in his stomach when he'd lost and was obligated to fire some of his fellow Wobblies. It was only because she'd had a sudden change of heart that he wasn't forced to do it.

"No, no, no. The stakes are the simple satisfaction of both of us knowing that one of us can do and the other—well, _tries hard_ , but clearly needs to reassess her courtship practices. It's a bet of pure principles. I'll even go first. Wednesday night, say 8-ish?"

She looked like she was about to say no but hadn't quite decided to, which meant she'd probably go for it. David was almost giddy.

"I'll pick you up-ish. Wear a dress-ish." He made a face. "Uh, that rhyme didn't really flow. Learn from me and don't try it. Whaddaya say?" He held out his hand again, determined to leave it in the air indefinitely.

"On a week night?"

"You're stallin', babe. What's it gonna be?"

Maddie hesitated, knowing she should nip this in the bud but not wanting to back down from any challenge questioning her ability to do anything. She stared at him disdainfully but finally said,

"Fine!" She shook his hand and he grinned wickedly.

" _Fun."_

 _~~~~~_

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you for your feedback, Bluemoon Stranger and Kismet 204! Okay, everyone, I think we're ready for the continuation of this episode. Will David show Maddie a fine time? Will Maddie _let_ David show her a fine time? That's what we're here to find out! Cue Mr. Al Jarreau with the theme song…

" _Don't You Change…_

 _Some walk by night_ _  
_ _Some fly by day…"_

 **FINE AND FUN**

 **from the** _ **Moonlighting**_ **,** _ **an**_ _ **Alternate Universe**_ **series**

 **Chapter Two:**

… **there was fine**

Wednesday night Maddie's bedroom looked like a mini-cyclone blew through it. A dozen pairs of shoes were all over the floor and almost the same number of dresses with matching wraps and scarves covered the bed and vanity chair. She stood in front of the mirror adjusting her final pick. She felt a tad naked in the sleeveless gown with a design made of tiny silver gems covering the bustier. She shouldn't because she often wore this style of dress on dates—ah, _evenings out_ attending the theater or a concert. Gone were the padded shoulders and business pumps David usually saw her in. Matching the color of her eyes, the blue nail polish on her toes was featured prominently by matching high-heel strappy sandals. She decided on a French manicure, wearing a single silver bracelet. Long drop earrings with blue gemstones dangling at the ends were the last of the jewelry. But taken altogether was it too much? Or not enough?

Most of the time she felt confident in her choice of clothes. Most of the time she felt confident period, but a surprising mix of nerves and excitement had her second guessing herself. On top of that, she wasn't sure how David was going to play this: seriously, as a joke, or as something in between, with Maddie feeling like an idiot for going along with his machinations either way. The man had complicated layers to his personality and was unpredictable at times. There was certainly never a dull moment with him. She was curious what he'd be like if he did take this challenge seriously. As it was, she had no idea where they were going tonight. His instruction to ' _Think black tie'_ was all she had to go by.

The sudden ringing of the doorbell made Maddie's pulse leap. She cast a final quick glance at her reflection before running downstairs. After taking a second to collect herself she pulled open the door to find a very debonair-looking escort.

"David?"

"You don't recognize me. I must clean up good." His appreciative gaze softened the hint of his trademark wisecrackery. "You, on the other hand, clean up great."

She smiled and let him in.

"Hi," he said, producing the single red rose he'd been hiding behind his back. The gesture touched Maddie. He must have remembered her complaint that men rarely did that anymore and he was just checking off a to-do box, that's all. What she didn't tell him was that Roger the orthodontist did give her a dozen roses six weeks ago but that was an apology sent by mail after the fact for cancelling on her an hour before what would have been their second date because 'something came up.' Gordon the TV exec sent her a veritable garden, another apology, after he'd—surprise, surprise—responded less than graciously when she turned down his invitation to spend the night with him after their third and last date. Neither of those offerings were as pleasing as this one.

"Hi," she replied softly, smelling the rose, then trailing it lightly from her lips to the top of her cleavage.

David's eyes widened and she lowered her lashes to hide her embarrassment. _~What was *that*, Maddie?~_ She wasn't sure but she needed to pull herself together.

"Well," he said gently.

"Well."

"Your chariot awaits, m'lady. Shall we go?"

"Let me get my wrap."

When she was ready, still holding her rose, he held the door open for her and she suddenly stopped after taking two steps, giving him a wide-eyed look over her shoulder.

"A limousine?"

"What else? Come, come—while the night is young and the tux rental lasts."

Maddie watched his fluid movements covertly as he got her settled in, spoke to the driver, then joined her in the back seat. Even with his 'cool man of the streets' vibe still evident, there was something different about him. If one didn't know any better, one would think here was a fellow who had 'fine' nights all the time.

The limo was roomy enough that he had to lean forward to open a compartment across from their seat, revealing an uncorked bottle on ice and two flutes.

"Champagne, Ms. Hayes?"

She put a hand to her chest. Real champagne. "Yes, thank you."

He poured and handed her a glass, his green eyes twinkling. "A toast to a fine evening with a fine lady." They clinked glasses.

David noticed her faint blush but didn't tease her. The threat of death wouldn't make him ruin this unusually companionable moment between them. He enjoyed their sparring for the most part, but he realized he liked this much better, until she said,—

"The night is still young, Addison. We'll see if you can sustain this." She took another sip and snuggled back against the plush seat but not before noticing the dimming of the smile he kept in place. She looked out the window, chastising herself for not taking Billy Joel's advice to 'leave a tender moment alone.' She wanted to, but it was hard to turn off her habitual way of talking to him.

Contrite, she looked at him and said, "This is really nice, David."

"Thanks," he said flatly, draining his glass.

It was too late. That little moment was erased and it was her fault. Maddie was waiting for the other shoe to drop and honestly, she would be more comfortable if it did. She wasn't sure she knew how to handle a flawless _evening out_ with David. Even more to the point, if he messed up she could claim he nullified the whole bet and thus wiggle her way out of her half of the deal.

"Maddie?" he said, drawing her rapt attention away from the fascinating views of generic buildings and lamp posts.

"Huh?"

He smiled wryly. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, _yes_ , I'm fi—great. I'm good."

"Fine, great and good, huh? Then you can rest easy." He sighed dramatically. "Aaaaand here we are—at the thee-ah-tah." He pressed a button and the divider slid down. "Paul, my man."

"Yes, sir."

"You know what to do and when to do it. In the meantime, treat yourself to something nice." David handed him thirty dollars. Paul grinned.

"Yes, sir!"

Maddie was aghast. "David!"

"Hang on. I got ya." He came around to her side of the limo and escorted her out.

"You didn't have to tip that much," she admonished when they reached the curb and Paul drove away. "And you should wait until the end of the night."

He raised an eyebrow and ushered her inside. "Is that what your Mr. Success and all his Stanford Rugby teammates do? Woolly bully for them but Paul and I have an understanding that you need not concern yourself with." Handing their tickets to an attendant, he cut her off before she could speak again. "Maddie, remove the ever-computing analysis chip from your brain. You're fine, great and good, remember? The only thing you have to do tonight is enjoy it. Relax."

"This way please," said the attendant, after giving them their program booklets.

Maddie decided to shut up. The "thee-ah-tah" was actually the gorgeous Ronenbach Music Hall which was one of her favorite places in the world to listen to her favorite classical artist.

"David! I _love_ Beethoven—especially when Don Barelli conducts. And it says here that this is his last program for the season. It's so wonderful you got tickets for it!" Her genuine smile of pleasure dazzled him, as did the way she said his name.

 _~Keep it together, Dave. The beautiful blonde beast's claws are sheathed but always on the ready. Don't expose your belly.~_

"Yeah, I hear they both put on a good show."

Maddie was aware of his hand on the small of her back as they followed the attendant. She was aware of how normal it felt when the fact is they rarely touched at all. David was more a part of her life than anyone else, but aside from breaking a fall or while running from or running after bad guys and girls, they never touched—except for a peck or two on the cheek she'd given him to make up for a fight…and notably that lip kiss in the garage and hugging him with relief and joy in her bedroom, both occurring when David was on the run after being framed for murder…. She jerked a little when she felt his hand slide to her waist and heard his voice close to her ear.

"You're tense, Maddie. Stop waiting for me to drop the ball—or are you scared I won't?"

"David, I'm fine."

"So you keep saying."

"Here we are," the attendant said when they reached the box seats and he held out a chair for Maddie.

She was beaming. The last time she had a box seat was before finding out her accountant robbed her blind. After that she couldn't afford it and the handful of men she'd gone out with since hadn't bothered. She wasn't going to ponder how David could afford all this when she certainly couldn't, or how he was able to get box seat tickets _two days before_ Barelli's last show, or if he bribed, stole or won them in a lottery. Not now. She was going to do what he said and enjoy it.

While David was saying something to the attendant, all of a sudden a tiny old man sat down beside her. She turned slowly and stared at him. He was grinning at her toothlessly.

"David."

David and the attendant were chuckling about something.

" _David,"_ she hissed.

The two men turned in her direction and—

"Would you two mind moving?" the old man said in a gravelly voice. He gestured towards Maddie. "My wife and I can't see."

Maddie's eyes got wide and the attendant questioningly rolled his toward David whose face froze mid-laugh before sliding into a quizzical smirk.

"Either we're all involved in a huge misunderstanding of gargantuan proportions, or I'm on the ultimate episode of Candid Camera, or…" He looked cross-eyed at Maddie…" _Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"_

Maddie stood up with a long suffering sigh. "Excuse me," she said to the attendant. "Please check the tickets. These might be the wrong seats."

The old man tapped his cane aggressively on the floor. "Elouise! This has been our favorite box since 1935! Don't go senile on me now, I won't have it."

"Sir, I must congratulate you on your good fortune," David said. "Your wife looks positively stunning for her age!"

The old man cackled. "Don't I know it!" He tugged on Maddie's dress. "Come on, honey, sit yourself back down here—." And in a conspiratorial whisper. "—so we can fool around when the lights go down!" He wiggled his bushy eyebrows suggestively.

" _Da—vid,"_ Maddie said through a stiff grin.

He put an arm around her and pointed to a young woman wearing a nurse ID who appeared behind the man. "It's alright, Maddie. I think this bit of performance art is about to come to an end."

"Mr. Shultz, I've been looking all over for you!"

"What?"

The nurse put her hands on his shoulders and smiled at them. "I'm so sorry. He gets a little confused. Let's go, Mr. Shultz, and let these nice people have their seats. Ours are in the next box, okay?"

"Oh! Okay! Let's go."

The nurse helped him up and they left.

"Glad that was cleared up!" the young attendant said nervously, gesturing for them to take a seat after he checked the one the old man had vacated.

"You ain't kiddin', kid," David muttered, staring at the expression on Maddie's face as they sat.

She sighed. "Well, no harm done. He seemed to have a lovely memory of coming here with his wife all those years. That was sweet."

They looked at each other for several moments until Maddie turned away, laughing a little self-consciously, and settled back in her seat to gaze out at the expanse of the theater.

David stared in the same direction. Whatever that was…. He smiled in the dark _. …it_ was sweet.

Finally the lights dimmed and for the next hour and a half Maddie was enthralled by Beethoven, Don Barelli and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. David was just happy that she was enjoying herself so much in his presence. And he had to admit Beethoven still put on a good show 150 years after meeting his eternal reward.

Afterwards back in the limousine, Maddie kept looking at David. The show was wonderful and the company was…decidedly congenial. The scene with the little old man even added an amusing touch of whimsy. She never experienced 'whimsy' with the men she dated. They weren't the types who would see the humor in it and might have made an unpleasant fuss. But David, who saw humor in just about everything, took it in stride. He was that kind of man and a _kind_ man.

A knowing smile appeared on his face and Maddie turned away. He opened the divider. "Paul, please take us to La Maison de la Saveur. It's the lady's favorite restaurant."

"Yes, sir."

The divider closed again.

"David, it's one thing that you somehow got those concert tickets, but there's no way you were able to get reservations for Saveur _for tonight._ You have to book a table at least two months in advance. Please don't let this be one of your embarrassing hijinks. What are you up to?"

"Well, back at the lounge in our office building I'm up to 3000 points playing Lady Pac-Man against McMahon and MacGillicuddy. Other than that, nothing much. I _am_ hungry though, after all that loud raunchy music. How about you?"

David was holding back his annoyance with some effort. Everything was fine, which was the point, right? Why was she so ready to think the worst of him? The evening was going great so far. Knowing her, as he suspected earlier, _that_ was the problem.

"You can't make last minute reservations at Saveur, David."

"No? That's funny. Ever heard of last minute _cancellations?_ They do happen sometimes. And sometimes the cosmos aligns the stars in a straight row for a guy like me and he gets lucky, so that when he takes a chance and calls La Maison de la Saveur,—presto!—he gets reservations for the exact date he wants. Might be impossible for _you_ to believe, I know, but there it is."

It was quiet inside the limo for a while.

"Well, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Thank you for spending your good luck on me—instead of a nicer woman."

He nodded in acceptance without looking at her. She gently plucked his sleeve until he did.

"I'm sorry."

He studied her in that unnerving way he had that always made her squirm.

"Prove it."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you said before, the evening's young but a bullet's just whizzed by my head already. Is there gonna be a cease fire, or do you want to forfeit your half of the deal _now,_ citing your inability to resist the quick draw?"

Irritation flared but she couldn't say he wasn't justified in what he said and how he said it.

"Cease fire," she said stiffly.

"Okay then."

La Maison de la Saveur was known for its French style seafood and its elegant atmosphere of muted pastels, Tiffany chandeliers and the genuine 18th century candelabras that graced each table. In fact, all of Saveur's entrées were seafood. Maddie knew that her escort wasn't a fan of anything French or fishy, the latter somewhat ironic because his father owned an eatery in Philadelphia called Seaside Fish. Perhaps the disaffinity came from having to work there part-time every summer from the age of eleven until he left home. It was thoughtful and kind of him to bring her here and she was ashamed of acting like—well, a bit of a bitch, to be honest. It was indeed her favorite restaurant. Occasionally she would treat herself and a friend to dinner here. Now of course it would be a self-indulgent waste of money. As she looked around, following the hostess to their table, the place oddly reminded her now of the boring self-absorbed rich men who used to take her there and expect something else later. G*d! It was nauseating how often it had come to that! Maybe David was right. _Why_ was she repeatedly going out with men who ended up treating her that way? Of course many hadn't been like that; she'd met some very nice men with whom for whatever reason lasting relationships didn't develop. But she experienced a few too many surprise lechers in the bunch. It certainly wasn't intentional on her part, but she was now seriously questioning her own judgment, something she'd never done before. The whole issue was disturbing.

David pulled out her chair and their waiter, who introduced himself as Louis, did the same for him to his amusement. Menus were placed in front of them and Maddie continued her musing.

David was a lot of things and sometimes lewd and crude were two of them. But Maddie knew him well enough to know that he would not pressure a woman into his bed just because he spent money on her. He wouldn't have to.

 _~Why am I thinking about David Addison's bed and who's in it?~_

"Okay, I know that look. I thought we settled this in the car. Whatever it is, Maddie, just spit it out."

Without looking at him, she picked up the menu. "No, I—I'm just wondering what you're going to order from this menu. I know you don't like seafood."

David picked up his too as Louis brought two crystal goblets of water both with lemon and cucumber slices and what looked like tiny tapioca balls.

"Mmm, salad water. Interesting….Ah, well. I already knew I'd have to go with the landlubber's favorite marine life.

Just then Louis said, "May I take your order now, or would you like more time?"

David put the menu down and smiled. "Maddie?"

"I'll have the Langoustine Étouffée."

"Very good and you, sir?"

"The broiled salmon plate."

"Would either of you like something to drink?"

Maddie handed her menu to him. "Oh yes, a white wine spritzer."

David surprised her by saying, "Make that a bottle."

She smiled at him. "You seem very much at ease here."

"And why wouldn't I be, Ms. Hayes?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I don't think—"

"That's okay. You look good." They shared a grin remembering when he said that to her during that all too murderous murder mystery train ride they had taken with Miss DiPesto.

"Couldn't resist, could you?"

He winked. "Now what would be the fun in that?"

The evening passed pleasantly and without incident between them. They made easy small talk, admittedly most of it was about the agency and they laughed about some of their zanier cases. It was fine. Perfectly fine. So why was Maddie a little perturbed that David was on his best behavior? Maybe it was because they were out together socially but it felt like they were playing a role. And that was the point, wasn't it? It felt like role-playing because it _was_ role-playing. It's just that it would have been nicer if it wasn't.

 _~Are you trying to say you wish this were a real date?~_

David's fork stopped halfway to his mouth when he saw Maddie's eyes widen and blink furiously, staring at the half eaten plate in front of her.

~ _Oh g*d! Don't tell me something's wrong with the food. Is she getting sick? Please, no!~_

"Maddie, what's the matter?"

"Oh!" She looked up and smiled with a fake brightness. "I'm okay. I just had something in my eye."

He mumbled something, looking relieved.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Is it out, whatever was in your eye?"

She made a show of dabbing at it, making sure not to smudge her make-up. They continued to eat for a while in silence, then Maddie put down her knife and fork.

"David?" she began, hesitantly.

"Maddie." There was a smile in his tone.

After a moment of him watching and waiting politely, she picked up her utensils again. "Nothing. It's—this is nice."

"Good. I'm glad nothing's wrong."

"No, nothing's wrong, David. Why would anything be wrong?"

She was staring at the wine list card again with unmoving eyes. He took it from her, which was a risky move. He knew she was in fact having a great date so far _with him_ and it was throwing her through a loop. He knew this because he'd become a star pupil during the last couple of years in the Psychology of Madolyn Hayes 101 class. She was _this_ close to starting an argument but he wasn't going to let her fear pull them back into their same old routine. No way did he go through all this tonight just to have her put him back into her 'Dumb Dave from Philly' box.

 _~Just a bet, my ass.~_

"David, I was looking at that."

 _~After we already ordered a bottle from it, Maddie? Sure you were.~_

"Sorry. I just—I thought we could talk."

"We've _been_ talking."

At that moment Louis returned and seeing their wine glasses empty, prepared to pour from the bottle at their table.

"No thanks, Louis. I'll take care of that for the lady."

"Certainly, sir."

As he filled her glass, she gave him a half-pleased, half-irked look.

"Aren't _you_ Mr. Debonair."

Her eyes fell to his hands. They looked…capable. She'd seen them ball into fists and connect with someone's jaw a couple times. His fingers had fine hairs and prominent veins that traveled their length past his knuckles. Wondering at the direction of her thoughts she quickly shifted her gaze to his face. She found that rather worth studying too. Luckily he was concentrating on the task at hand.

He took his own glass and lifted it, doing that intriguing partial lip lick of his.

"Let's toast."

She raised hers too. "To what?"

He pretended to consider it carefully. "Same as before. To _me_ —for being lucky enough to spend the night, in a manner of speaking, with my lovely lady boss."

His tone was a caress across her skin and she felt a pleasurable warmth creeping up her neck to her cheeks. In the nick of time she halted her usual knee-jerk defensive reaction to say something churlish almost whenever an intimate moment sprang up between them. She was beginning to notice how immature the habit was. Besides, she promised no more deprecating comments, or skeptical facial expressions, or anything like that. He'd done nothing to merit it. She, however, was acting like a small bag of cats and she knew it. Something about this faux date was getting to her. She drank half of her glass of wine at one go.

David noticed but said nothing.

~ _That's it, Dave. She's acting kinda prickly, but all you gotta do is not say anything stupid for the rest of the night and you are in the clear.~_

He fished around for a safe neutral topic. "So…how's your Aunt Ruth?"

She stared him down. _"What?"_

He couldn't believe it! How could that question possibly irritate her?

"I remember you were on the phone with her yesterday, so I figured…it was great she was able to talk to you. I know she's your only relative out here and…I didn't mean to upset you by asking, Maddie."

"No, it's okay." She smiled drily. "I must have—drunk my wine a little too fast. She's doing okay as far as I can tell. She sounds like she's in good spirits but I'm going to visit her soon to check on her in person. Thanks for asking."

He couldn't know that mentioning Aunt Ruth would bring back thoughts of Annie, something she hadn't told him or anyone else about because…well, she knew it might seem selfish and cold but she wanted to ignore her cousin's death until she _had_ to think about it, like at the funeral. Something about Annie's death made Maddie look at her own life in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable way. She was successfully avoiding that for now. The morbid thoughts were held at bay because she was immersed in this contest with David. He was the only person she knew who could distract her this much and get all the way into her head, even if only until she regained her own senses. What else could explain her fiery temper with him and her rather childish slamming of doors? She never acted that way before even as a teenager. Her expressions of anger had usually been served with a stiff coolness for most of her life.

Maddie noticed David watching her and tried to divert his attention.

"Hey, don't you like the salmon?"

Her plate was clean but his wasn't.

"It's okay."

"Well, David, why did we come here? There are plenty of good restaurants that have both seafood _and_ steak."

"But I know you like _this_ place, Maddie. It's the _finest,_ isn't it?"

Her gaze narrowed. "It's overkill. My fine evening doesn't include listening to my date's stomach growl when he has an unfinished plate of food in front of him."

David leaned forward, pinning her suddenly with a penetrating gaze. "So," he began slowly, like someone making a discovery he didn't want to lose. "I'm your date."

"It's an expression. Didn't we go over this before?"

"An expression that means 'I'm your date.'"

Maddie looked away, _sipping_ her wine this time, determined to stop verbally dueling with him. She slipped up enough tonight in that regard already.

The quartet in the adjacent ballroom room began a bluesy version of Patti LaBelle's 'If Only You Knew' which reminded her of when she was saddled with two Addisons and all the craziness that situation automatically entailed. She also remembered that the man sitting across from her had gotten her the money she needed to save her house at that time. Who does that? Are they always appreciated? Or is a certain someone always sweating the small stuff and ignoring the value of this diamond in the rough?

"Would you like to dance, Madolyn?" She detected a challenge and slightly lifted her chin.

David stood and held a hand out to her with a lopsided smile. She took it and he led her to the dance floor. Maddie felt his arm carefully circle her waist until his palm pressed gently against her lower back bringing her closer and she put hers around his shoulder. Holding her other hand lightly, he led her in a slow circle, effortlessly keeping time with the slow sultry beat. Their faces were close and David wasn't looking away. She averted her gaze to the side.

It was just a dance. She danced with David before. He was playing this game to win. He was acting out a fine evening. That's all.

"Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?" he asked softly, his breath touching her cheek.

She smiled, still looking away. "No. But you did say I 'clean up nice'."

"I think that was 'you clean up great'—which indeed you do. But you _are_ beautiful, Maddie Hayes, and I think I should tell you that more often."

She gave him a look.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Maddie was about to say something but lost the thought. When blue locked with green several moments too long, she stumbled but he caught her before it became a spectacle. Shaken by the near fall, she was also caught off-guard by how sexy his low laughter sounded.

"As for your sense of balance, Ms. Hayes…now that's another topic!"

"Shut up," she said without heat.

He laughed again, spun her around and dipped her, bringing her up slowly into an even closer hold, barely moving. His gaze rested on her mouth, all trace of a smile gone.

She felt the slow stroke of his thumb across her lower spine and it took an effort not to noticeably react.

"So I don't move well, David?"

"No verdict on that yet."

Oh, she walked into that on purpose because of that thumb, that dip and that look! That unreadable look of his was unnerving as hell and right on cue her hackles rose but she squashed them down again. This evening seemed to be an exercise in self-control for her more than anything else! Yet even so, the commonplace compliment that started this last mini-event meant more coming from him than from anyone else, just like the rose and everything else he'd done tonight, no matter the reason behind it. And she desperately needed to remember the reason behind it.

At that moment David swung her around again. "Two pennies for the thoughts taking you away like Calgon. The offer is double the usual because I'm doubly curious."

"I was thinking," she began slowly.

David opened his mouth, then closed it. "You're tempting me into these punchlines, Maddie."

"I was thinking how hard it is to meet a man who likes me for something other than my looks. And to be honest, I never saw what all the fuss was about. Remember what I was telling you before? If I talk about the economy or the Han Dynasty…" She looked vaguely lost. "…they don't _hear_ me. All they know is, I'm _beautiful."_

David sighed, letting the space between them widen. _~Jeezus, this again?~_ He couldn't even compliment her without it somehow being a damn insult. ~ _Why do I even bother?~_ He joked to hide his frustration.

"Better they know that than nothing. Wouldn't want 'em to be totally clueless, now would you? Most men are simple, Maddie. They see a woman they're attracted to, they say 'hi, what's your name?' and pop the question. I mean the 'let's go out and have some laughs' question. Men don't take women out to learn encyclopedia facts."

Maddie's eyes snapped back to his. "And I don't go out with men to be treated like a Barbie Doll. There must be a place in the middle for two mature adults to meet between animal attraction and a wedding."

"You make a simple date sound like an international peace treaty."

Maddie stopped moving, forcing him to as well, and counted to five with her eyes closed in the middle of the dance floor.

When she opened them, she said, "I'm feeling tired, David. Shall we go?"

"Maddie, I'm sorry," he said persuasively, tugging her gently back into dancing. "I was complimenting you and I thought compliments were good things. Instead, mine brought up some unpleasant thoughts for you and that's not—" He smiled wryly.

"—that's not fine."

Eyes closed, she shook her head wearily. "I'm starting to hate that word."

"Well, don't. We're not done with it yet."

He didn't think before he brought their joined hands towards his lips and brushed a soft kiss across her knuckles.

"It's a good word. It describes you. You are so _fine._ See, did that hurt? No, it's just a harmless little compliment. _"_

He pulled her closer.

"Ah, David,— I _am_ feeling a little tired actually."

"So you want to leave." He sounded resigned.

"Yes." Her smile wavered. "But it _has_ been a wonderful evening. A lovely evening. Thank you."

He had to give it to her. It was one of the nicest ways a woman had ever cut a date short with him. Because usually at this time of night he was just getting started with the _fun._

"Wonderful and lovely, huh? I'll take it."

They returned to their table and David paid the check.

"Now it's time to get Maddie-rella home before the limo turns back into a pumpkin pie."

"What will you turn back into?" she asked.

He took her wrap and placed it around her from behind, saying quietly, "A frog—waiting for a kiss."

She said nothing. He smiled ruefully, placing her hand in the crook of his arm. Paul was waiting right outside the door. They had another glass of champagne on the way home but spoke very little. Finally they were standing in front of Maddie's door.

"Well…"

Maddie fingered the edges of her wrap. "Well."

Looking directly at her, he said in a neutral tone, "Let's be official and run this word into the ground. Maddie Hayes, did you have a fine time tonight?"

"Yes. Yes, I did. Thank you, David, for a _fine_ fine time." She gave him a genuine smile with a hint of bashfulness.

They both hesitated awkwardly after she unlocked her door.

"I guess it's my turn now, huh?" she said.

His smile held just a hint of triumph.

"I guess."

And still they lingered. David glanced at Maddie absently shifting her clutch from hand to hand.

"So…?

Maddie raised her brows. "So."

She wondered why she was at a loss for words. David saved her from feeling any more awkward than she already did when he broke the stalemate.

"Look, the truth is tonight almost didn't happen as smoothly as it did. It really is shooting yourself in the foot trying to plan an evening like this only two nights before." And thank God he had some rainy day money saved up!

"I didn't say it had to be tonight, David. You chose it."

"Maddie, it's not a complaint. I just want you to know that I don't expect _fun_ tomorrow. Take your time."

David was playing it cool but he was as excited as a cat rolling around in a barrel of catnip that he'd get to go out again—on a _date_ —with Maddie Hayes. In a past life he must have saved everyone in a burning village and this was his reward!

"Well, thanks for that. How about…next Saturday?" ~ _If it didn't coincide with the funeral.~_

He gave her a wide smile. "Perfect, Ms. Hayes."

"Good," she said briskly. "Well, goodnight, David. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Early—as in _on time_ , I hope."

 _~Guess I'm not getting a kiss.~_ It wasn't even the right mood now to kiss her hand. Damn. Still smiling, he backed away towards the waiting limo with his hands in his pockets.

"Bet I'll see you first."

"Oh god. No more bets!"

He winked and blew her his signature two-finger kiss and turned away without another word.

Maddie closed the door and leaned against it. This really happened. She honestly thought there wasn't a snowball's chance in hades that he could pull this evening off as well as he did. But he _did_. He really did—in less than two days' notice. She on the other hand had no idea what she was going to do for _fun._ And it had to be a fun night for _him._ But no worries. She worked with the man for two years and he ran his mouth nonstop, often telling her all about his concept of _fun_ —and occasionally showing her, while lying on the couch in his office so hungover he couldn't move _._ Surely, it wouldn't be all that hard to please him, would it?

Enough! What she needed to do right now was go to sleep after a nice warm shower. Tomorrow was Thursday, another normal workday, during which everything and everyone would be normal. Nothing had changed.

Maddie quickly took that shower and pulled on the first nightgown she found in the closet, made sure the windows were locked, cut off the lights and practically dived into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. After a while the ticking of the clock in the hallway drove her nuts. With a little snarl she threw back the covers, got up and closed the door. Returning, she reached into the night table to fumble around in the dark for one of her relaxation tapes. She pushed one into her alarm clock/tape player and lay on her back under the covers again. She breathed a sigh of relief when ocean sounds began with a little Johann Sebastian Bach in the background.

No, nothing had changed, nothing at all.

Satisfied, she snuggled into her pillow and fell fast into a dreamless sleep…

…until she started dreaming... _about a bright summer day at crowded Malibu beach. She lay face down on a blanket in the sand wearing two 'barely there' red strips of cloth meant to be a bikini. She heard herself say drowsily,_

 _~"Put some on my back please."~_

 _Instantly she felt the tie come undone and the top strip loosen and slide to her sides. Firm,_ _*capable* hands slowly and thoroughly rubbed sunscreen into her skin in circular caressing motions. No part of her exposed back was left untouched, from her neck down to the base of her spine and upward slope of her derriere. She hadn't felt anything this good in a long time…_

(This was one of those dreams where she was half aware she was dreaming. She knew exactly who was with her in the sand and where all this was going. And since it was 'only a dream' she could fully enjoy it and excuse it as such afterwards…)

 _Now those hands gently turned her over mashing her bikini top underneath her, baring her nudity to him. A slow languorous smile spread across David's face. He kissed her forehead and preceded to smooth a protective layer of lotion—everywhere._

 _Every. Where._

 _With a helpless murmur she arched into his hands. The avid appreciation in his gaze changed to possessive heat as he observed this and her shallow breathing. She took in the toned expanse of his chest, shoulders, arms, and was fascinated by the leanness of his waist. He didn't know she'd spied him in the basement gym once as she passed by on her way to the garage. Evidently, he'd spent considerable time there…_

 _David finished his sensual ministrations and was leaning over her, staring at her breasts, her cherry lip gloss, and finally her eyes. Maddie reached up and stroked his cheek._

" _Thank you—David." Her voice was a sultry invitation. "What would I do without you?"_

 _The corners of his emerald green eyes crinkled. "Not this, my lovely lady boss…."_

 _He moved closer in slow motion, closed his arms around her, and sighed heavily when she tunneled her hands in his hair. As soon as their lips touched…._

…Maddie woke up. _What? Noooo!_

A second later the alarm went off, startling her. She looked over at the offending apparatus. 6:00am, time to rise. But instead she lay there staring at the ceiling, trying to get a grip on reality. Then the barest hint of a smile appeared on her face.

That dream. _Damn._

The alarm went off a second time. She hit the button aggressively and with a groan pressed her face into the pillow.

**lunar**

TO BE CONTINUED DURING THE NEXT FULL MOON…


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** In this alternate reality, the events of the 'Big Man on Mulberry Street' episode happened before 'Symphony in Knocked Flat' / 'Fine and Fun.'

Okay, so this was going to be the last chapter but it was about 3X the length of the last one. Ack! I guess there's nothing absolutely wrong with that, but I don't know, it didn't feel right so I cut it in half, making two chapters instead.

On the show we saw David go through changes for Maddie multiple times and we saw him in Symphony trying to put together a date to please Maddie. But rarely did we see Maddie coming out of her comfort zone quite as much for David. Will she, can she, in _any_ reality? Let's find out! So Wobblies, without further ado I hope you enjoy the continuation of FAF. Let's go, hit it Al Jarreau...!

 _"Don't You Change…_

 _Some walk by night_

 _Some fly by day…_

 _Moonlighting strangers_

 _Who just met on the way…_ _"_

 **FINE AND FUN**

 **from the _Moonlighting, an Alternate Universe_ s** **eries**

 **Chapter Three:**

 **…And then there was...**

Bright and early on a Monday morning, about a week and a half after the fine date, David Addison, Jr. strolled through the doorway of Blue Moon Investigations.

"Mornin', dudes and dudettes! Ready to _not_ put your noses to grindstones?"

"Goodmorning, Mr. Addison." Agnes crossed to MacGillicuddy's desk with a pot of coffee as Bert looked on, bristling like a porcupine preparing for a fight.

"Agnes, you are not that _wastoid's_ maid. MacGillicuddy, get off your fat tush and get your own coffee!"

The notes for the Petrosky-Sloan case started to get wrinkled in his grip when Agnes ignored him and poured into the cup at the end of a smirking MacGillicuddy's outstretched hand.

Bert bared his teeth. This odious creep was asking for it!

"Viola, you have no class. I don't know how a decent woman like Agnes puts up with you,—you miniature _troll._ Someone ought to show her what she's missing. And maybe that'll be me!" Then he winked at her.

Bert quickly stood up, chest heaving. Agnes shook her head, ignoring them, as she poured herself a cup too.

"MacGillicuddy! You _swine!_ I'm gonna—!"

"Down, boys!" David held up both hands, a Chicago newspaper tucked under one arm. "This is no way to conduct the business of leisure at the office. Besides, it's only coffee, Bert. You have the rest."

With some effort, Bert settled down. "I'm sorry, Mr. Addison. It's just that MacGillicuddy is such a dweeb."

"Stuff it, Viola!"

"You make me, ass crack!"

"Why, you—!"

At that moment David whipped off his Ray-Bans. "Well, glad that's all settled. Miss DiPesto, did Maaa—are there any messages?"

Agnes blinked. "Mahhh? Messages?"

"Yeah. Messages. What happens is, a persistent ringing noise comes from this squarish contraption, you pick up _this_ part with holes in it at both ends and a voice comes out of it...saying something, and we sometimes call _that_ a 'message.' Often _you_ write them down. Remember?"

"Oh! Yeah!…No! I mean, there are no messages."

He smiled at her crookedly. "Well, who needs 'em, right? Carry on, troops! Carry on."

He whistled an upbeat Motown tune, entering his office, but as soon as he closed the door his demeanor changed. He tossed the paper down on his desk, shoved his hands in his pockets and paced slowly with a small frown.

Maddie hadn't called since last Thursday afternoon when she arrived at her parents' house in Chicago for her cousin's funeral scheduled on Saturday. She called _Agnes_ , not him, and said she was coming back sometime between the following Thursday which just passed and this Monday, today. As of yet no call, no show. She never mentioned this cousin nor the death of said person to him until _the day_ _she left,_ literally right before leaving for the airport. And then she'd acted like the event was no big thing in and of itself and an even smaller matter to just up and leave. But he knew better. David plopped down in his chair and leaned forward over his the desk. He knew _her_ better.

Maddie Hayes put on a cold front to keep from melting. It used to drive him nuts before he figured her out. It still did. He was tempted to track her down but this wasn't the same as Buenos Aires or even New York. Like New York, a funeral was involved; unlike him in New York, he knew Maddie would not welcome him just showing up. Not at her parents' house, not in this case. And why was he feeling so antsy about the woman being gone anyway? It was kinda _nice_ to have a break from Maddie. She made him feel things and do things and say things that he might not if she wasn't who she was and he wasn't who he was. However, this whole Chicago thing gave him an unpleasant feeling of déjà vu. It was like she left and wasn't coming back. Or like in some alternate universe, something like that happened because something _before_ that happened, and then something _else_ happened and he had the feeling it was one of the worst times in his alternate existence. Or something like that.

David's eyes shifted comically from left to right while he made Twilight Zone sounds. " _DOO-doo-doo-doo, DOO-do-do-do.._. _Ummmm…"_

Then he shook his head and made Three Stooges sounds like his head was full of marbles and laughed to himself. ~ _Come on, Davey Dave. You lettin' the blonde beast get to you like *this?*_ ~ He got up and went for his chocolate milk which always settled him down. It was still Monday and Maddie would return just like she said. Of course she would. Besides, the lady had some postponed fun to provide. He wouldn't be crass enough to mention it before she did, since she was coming back from a family tragedy, but he would remind her at a time in the near future if he had to. David leaned back, with hands behind his head and feet up, just as his door was flung open and Bert and MacGillicuddy both practically fell over each other into his office, shouting heatedly at the same time.

"Mr. Addison, MacGillicuddy hijacked my business call! We lost a potential _client_ because of him!"

"Business?! Hah! It was your _numbers runner_ , Viola, and you were talking too loud!"

"Lying _scum!"_

"Scummy _liar…!"_

Not paying them any attention for a least a full minute while they flanked his desk and continued their wild argument, David was lost in the thought of Maddie 'Would Never Limbo in a Thousand Years' Hayes attempting to provide a fun date for yours truly. He smirked with delight. Either way that bat swung, it was gonna be a home run for him!

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

Actually, Maddie had arrived back in LA on Thursday. She just didn't tell anyone. She was grateful for a few days of solitude which was in short supply in Chicago. She extended her visit beyond the funeral to spend time with her parents, but she was completely drained from the depressing events on the day of the funeral, the worst part of which wasn't even the funeral itself. She could not remember personally witnessing a more sordid turn of events than what occurred there and at the repast at Aunt Gloria's house _._

Annie had been cheating on Mark with a lot of men. Some of them attended the funeral. At least they were on time, unlike Mark who arrived drunk and he and his brothers started fist-fighting with them afterwards outside the church. Since the brothers were supposed to be the pallbearers, replacements volunteered from among other family members and guests. They carried Annie's casket right past the brawling crowd. It was disgusting! But the degeneracy didn't end there.

Annie had been driving drunk that fateful night and one of her lovers was a passenger in the car and died with her. His funeral was on the same day. That didn't stop certain members of _his_ family and friends from crashing Annie's repast and making accusations that she was a murderer. Aunt Gloria passed out, the interlopers were forcibly ejected followed by more fighting outside the house and an attempt to break the front windows. The police had to be called. Thank god Mark wasn't there since one of his brothers had taken him home after the funeral fight.

It also came to light that Mark had increased the life insurance policy on Annie from $25,000 to $100,000 three months ago which raised some eyebrows along with some questions…. But Maddie wasn't the least bit curious. She just couldn't bring herself to care. Annie and Mark had evidently created the worst marriage they possibly could and the proof was in the results.

She could have sworn she was on the set of some macabre soap opera! Thank goodness it was _over._ And so, she wouldn't think about it anymore. She was home now and all that mess was left behind in Chicago, half a country away.

Maddie felt a sense of peace as soon as she entered her home and took her bags upstairs. She'd been good—only one large suitcase and one big handbag. Back in her modeling days, it wasn't unheard of for her to have three big suitcases if she was going anywhere for a week or more—two filled to bursting and one empty for purchases. She slumped down on the side of her bed and looked around her room. Her gaze wandered over all of the pictures of herself covering a wall. Her modeling career seemed like a million years ago. The more she looked at the pictures, the more it seemed wrong for them to be there. She stared at her favorites. What kind of person has pictures of herself all over her bedroom wall anyway? She'd moved on from that life but here she was with the past staring her in the face every day. Maybe it was because even two years in she still felt like a fish out of water trying to run a detective agency. She just didn't have David's devil-may-care ability to take in stride unexpected detours in life. She liked sticking to detailed plans made far in advance. Maddie had to admit though, his attributes came in handy in their line of work. He might often act like a complete goofball but David Addison had that edge and that go-get-'em attitude _exactly_ when it was most needed when they were on a case. The truth was…

She got up and strolled around the room restlessly. The next thought was tough and she needed to move to keep it from dragging her down. The truth was she'd probably right now be just another aging B-list model, not quite getting as many plum assignments as before and bored with it all anyway with no skills for any other type of work. But she began to lose pleasure and the sense of fulfillment with modeling during her last successful year by industry standards. She _wanted_ to do something else and had just started thinking about what when the unthinkable happened.

But this life? She never envisioned anything like it yet here she was. But she was doing okay, right? And hadn't her motto always been ~'Never look back'~? Maddie paused in front of her collage, fingering some of the pictures, then she slowly took all of them down.

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

The next morning David was in his office, chin in his palm, drumming a pen against the desktop. He paused mid-tap when he heard the phone ring out at the reception desk. After a few seconds he sat up straighter at the knock on his door.

"Come in. I rarely bite."

Agnes peeked in.

"Mr. Addison?"

"You got me! I guess this disguise isn't working."

Agnes brought her entire body in and hovered near the door.

"Uh, Mr. Addison, that was Ms. Hayes on the phone."

"Well, she's gotta be somewhere. But ah…why didn't you _put her through?"_

"She just said to tell you that she was home and she'll be in tomorrow."

David sat back. "Okay," he said slowly.

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

"Goodmorning, Miss DiPesto, everyone," Maddie said breezily as she crossed the threshold of Blue Moon Investigations. Everyone looked up but awkwardly said nothing and one by one went back to 'work.' Bert was the last to look away.

"Goodmorning, Ms. Hayes," Agnes said with a concerned smile as the other woman picked up a stack of mail and made a beeline for her office. "Welcome…" The door closed with an abrupt 'click.' "...back." She moved too fast for Agnes to express her sympathies. The breeziness, the beeline and the 'click' meant something was wrong but Maddie was pretending it wasn't and didn't want to talk about it anyway. Of course she was probably still grieving.

David came out of his office.

"Mr. Addison, Ms. Hayes is—"

"Yep, I heard." He lingered near Agnes while glancing at Maddie's closed door. "So, Miss DiPesto, what's today's forecast?"

Also looking in the same direction, Agnes considered this for a moment. "I would say…cloudy with a chance of meatballs."

He did a double take and smiled. "One of my favorite books!"

"One of mine too!"

"Well, I better see for myself. Wish me luck. I'm going in. Hold all my calls."

"Yes, Mr. Addison."

Instead of just barging through Maddie's door like he usually did, he knocked first, then barged in.

"Hey. Blondie-blonde."

Maddie looked up from the case notes she wasn't really reading and the stack of bills and junk mail unopened to the side. She smiled faintly.

"Hey yourself."

He sat down in a client chair instead of propping himself on the edge of her desk. "Everything okay?"

She sighed and leaned back. "I can't say it was a hoot, but it's over now. How've you been? I'm surprised to see this place still standing, managed—for want of a better word—by you and your fellow co- _non_ -workers."

"Lady's doing good. She got jokes." A small smirk slid in place. "But thanks for asking. Everyone and everything's been peachy. Agnes was the glue that held it all together, boss. She's the Evil Knievel of office personnel and deserves a raise."

"Just Agnes, huh? Well, I'll take that under advisement."

"Yeah. I assumed you knew Agnes was on top of things and that's why you didn't call."

"I called when I landed. I left a message for you when I was coming back."

"Yeah, the message was you were coming back in about a week—which as of today turned into almost two weeks before you decided to tell anyone that you actually _were_ back."

"David."

He heard the beginnings of irritation in her tone and decided it wasn't worth it. She was okay and she was home.

"You know what? Rewind all that." He made circles with his finger and tape rewinding sounds. "I'm sorry. I just missed you and I was concerned, that's all."

Maddie let out a breath and leaned forward on the desk, rubbing her forehead slowly. "I know. I appreciate that and I'm sorry too. The whole situation was draining and the effect it had on me...I needed to just—" She shook her head, at a loss for the right words.

"It's okay, Maddie. You don't have to explain. If you ever need a firm shoulder and a listening ear, you know I'm here for you, partner."

She smiled fondly at him. "I know. Thank you."

She stood up and walked around the desk to lean back on it, facing him. It brought her right in his personal space, which she usually didn't do voluntarily. Not that he was complaining.

"I just want you to know that I haven't forgotten about this _fun_ evening I'm supposed to provide."

David suddenly felt like a heel for the way he was gloating about it to himself, using those same words.

"Look, Maddie, you don't have to—"

She held up a hand.

"No. Life goes on and I want get this over with. When I agree to something, I follow through. It's fine. I'm fine." She added with a small smile. "As fine as my evening out was. You adapted almost flawlessly, David."

"You make me sound like a test monkey in a lab who done good. And what do you mean, ' _almost?'"_

She ignored him, strolling back around to her seat. "I intend to match that. It's my turn to show you a thing or two."

David caught that twinkle in her eyes before she turned away. He'd never known Maddie to let her hair down figuratively speaking. Was there a fun side to her that lasted longer than the mere glimpses he saw in the almost two and a half years he'd known her?

"If you're free next Saturday night, Addison, you _will_ have fun."

"Do tell."

"Will show."

"This Saturday?"

"No, next Saturday. I don't have your last minute planning skills."

She was looking at him in a way that made him— _speculate._ And anticipate.

"They pale in comparison to the skills you do have, Ms. Hayes."

Maddie wasn't able to hide a grin. She actually missed his witticisms and innuendos while she was away.

"Well, I have work to do and I'm sure you do too. Can we meet after lunch to discuss the Morgan-Faraday and Petrosky-Sloan cases? Bert's notes are good but I wanted flesh out a few things and see what you think."

David sauntered towards the door. He assumed from that remark that she wasn't planning on having lunch with _him._ Push, pull. Hot, cold. Yes, no. Mostly 'no.' That hadn't changed a bit. No use setting himself up for disappointment by speculating or anticipating _anything._

"Oh, have you reconsidered the Will Lessing case? He wants to hire us _bad._ He said he'd wait for you to come back to get your final decision."

"He has my final decision, David. Missing persons because of suspected foul play are a police matter. You know that. You _taught_ me that."

"Maddie, come on. She's not missing. Everything he told us points to her having a lover on the side. This kind of thing is our bread and butter, our cheese and crackers, our ham and eggs."

"More like our slime and mud." But Maddie hesitated. They could use the money. "Let me think on it further."

"Well, he's out of town and doesn't want us to start until he comes back."

"What? David, that doesn't sound right. When people want to find someone, they don't let the trail get cold. Something's fishy. I don't like it."

"Maddie, what does it matter? He'll _pay_ us either way. Remember the feel of moolah in your hands?"

David saw the shutters close in her face and knew the battle was lost.

"When he contacts you— _if_ he contacts you—presumably still all anxious and concerned about a fiancé who's been missing for _over two weeks_ already, tell him we can't help him."

"You're the boss," he drawled on his way out.

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

The next week and a half passed more quickly than Maddie would have liked. At least David didn't have the Wobblies limbo-ing or lead an insurrection against her. And she'd only had the urge to slam the door once which was a record of sorts and it was about the usual—a case. She didn't want to take it; he did. She wanted no part of a man who was an admitted scam artist and wanted them to find the child that one of his victims had given up for adoption. David thought the guy was genuinely remorseful and wanted a relationship with his now 20-year-old alleged daughter or at least to apologize. Maddie didn't believe him but even if he were telling the truth, she saw no reason to disrupt the girl's life because this guy suddenly wanted to ease his conscience twenty years too late—a criminal biological father who used and dumped her biological mother. Wherever she was, did she need to know the sordid affair that she was the result of? Much to David's annoyance they didn't take the case. Aside from that incident, he was becoming more selective with the battles he picked with her which meant fewer arguments.

Her current concern was this upcoming date. She decided to use her amateur investigative skills for her own personal case. Maddie secretly visited some of the nighttime haunts David had occasionally revealed that he patronized. Wherever she went she asked specifically about him to find out how _much_ time he spent at which places so she'd have a more intimate knowledge of his tastes. Maddie didn't think she'd run into him but they'd gone on enough stake-outs that she knew how to 'case a joint' to spot someone before they could spot her. Something she learned from the subject himself.

As it turned out and not surprisingly, David was quite the celebrity at some of these places and she'd only come across one negative report on him. It was a garishly neon bright place called Obscenities—a name that certainly fit the place. It had a degenerate vibe she found distasteful but she would work this case like any other. At one point a strange inebriated woman with red frizzy hair weaved unsteadily towards Maddie as she was talking to someone else about David. Nancy…or Noreen?… interrupted her conversation by blowing rank breath in her face.

"Shih! Daveh Adshun? He'zzha lousy date! Nmurgh ever see _him_ again aslongsliv…!"

Maddie walked away from the woman in mid-sentence and vacated the premises. She wasn't ever coming back to this place with David or anyone else!

The next night she came across a more promising place called Mesmerize, a sister property of Obscenities but more respectable in every way. Mesmerize specialized in playing Motown music, so this was definitely a club that David would frequent. Maddie had never told him but she enjoyed listening to classic Doo Wop too. It's just that her partner sang, hummed or whistled it excessively.

"Yeah, yeah, that guy Addison is a funny guy," said one of Mesmerize's bartenders. "He really livens up the place and while the folks are laughing at him, they're also buying more drinks. So he's A-okay in my book." He raised a brow. "You lookin' for a date?"

"Excuse me."

"A lot of ladies come in here asking about him but you're one of the classier ones. You know, you kinda remind of…ah…the Blue Earth Soap chick from way back."

Maddie suppressed a wry smile. ~ _It wasn't *that*_ _long ago, bub.~_

A woman with short blond hair streaked with russet called over, "No, Marty. It's Blue Moon Shampoo, and yeah that's her." She turned to her table companions, gesturing towards Maddie. "Look, it's Madolyn Hayes!"

It looked like the woman was on a double date. The two couples, probably in their mid-twenties, gaped at the ex-model approaching them.

"Maybe you all can help me with something. Are you regulars here?"

"Yes," the second woman said. "You just can't beat the music." She was a long-hair redhead and taller than her friend. So far she was nothing like the other redhead she'd met the night before.

"Yeah, I can't stand that techno garbage they call music these days," her date said. "Are you really that model—Madolyn Hayes, and do you love Motown as much as we do?"

They all seemed tipsy enough to talk freely to a nice stranger. Maddie put on her best shampoo commercial smile. "Of course! I'm glad I discovered this place. Since you come here often, do you know a guy named David Addison?"

"Oh man, do we?" said the short blond, looking around at her companions. " _Everyone_ who frequents this place knows Dave Addison!"

Her date pulled her closer, tickling her side. "You're not kidding. If he didn't prefer brunettes, I doubt my brother and I here would be sitting with these two beautiful girls." He turned to look at Maddie. "But the Add-Man might make an exception for you, Miss Hayes."

 _~The 'Add-Man?'~_

"I don't doubt it," the red-head said, eyeing Maddie a little enviously.

"Well, we'll see. Maybe you could tell me more about him before I make my approach."

One of the guys belched and excused himself before saying, "I know who you should talk to! Dave is always getting into these deep intellectual conversations with Pete."

"Oh yeah—Pete!" The red-head almost knocked over her drink as she turned to face him. "We'd all be drinking, some woman would be hanging on to Dave's every word, trying to keep up, while he and Pete would talk about some way-out stuff. So funny!"

"Yeah, science, God, ethics, pizza, cars, politics, feminism...You name it, they debate it. Right here. _"_

Maddie couldn't help looking at them skeptically. David spending his time in a club talking about ethics and _feminism?_ They must be talking about another David Addison.

"Hey, in fact, he's right over there, Miss Hayes. I bet he could give you the scoop about Dave. Hey, Pete! Come over here! The original Blue Moon Shampoo Girl wants to date the Add-Man and needs an inside scoop!"

Maddie hastily said, "No, you don't have to—"

But Pete was already standing there, giving her a neutral once over. Then he smiled widely. While he wasn't drunk, he'd certainly had a few. "Well, it's about time Dave got some class!" He stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Pete. What do you want to know about him? Cuz I know _everything…"_

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

On Friday night before D-Day Maddie was drinking herbal tea in her kitchen. Finally everything was set and she was satisfied with her preparations. Yes, David would have fun and he'd have to admit it. She'd show him she could accomplish _anything_ she put her mind to—like _not_ thinking about that intense dream she had about him over three weeks ago. No, indeed, she was not thinking about it. It hardly crossed her mind since. She tidied up the kitchen, turned out the lights and went upstairs.

As she slid under the covers, thoughts of Annie invaded her mind which was worse. She didn't want to feel that sadness or that disgust anymore. The way Annie lived her life made Maddie reflect on her own in a way that made her notice her dissatisfaction and disappointment with certain parts of it. Even fear. She rolled over to look through the glass balcony doors. If she were honest with herself, and being alone in the dark was as good a time as any, she could admit that this modern independent woman was lonely and wanted a man of her own. She was tired of occasional dates that went nowhere. She was 35 years old and she'd been dating for twenty years and no one had asked her to marry him yet. Oh, she'd been somewhat serious with two men, even lived with one for two years—but more for convenience than commitment. Of course there was also the fact that she'd never actually been in love—at least not enough to be overly sad after each inevitable breakup. Actually she always felt a sense of relief when a relationship that wasn't working was over. After all, if it wasn't the real deal, there was no point wasting any more time on it.

Maddie suddenly propped herself up on her forearm, a wave of hair hanging messily over an eye. Why was she thinking about all this now? What was with the needy woman routine? What had any man ever given her that was better than what she gave herself? What she _needed_ was sleep. It's not like having a man full-time was necessary to live a full life.

 _~How about a part-time one? And do you even have any *friends?* You need some female friends. Why don't you join that Book and Cook Club your therapist told you about over a month ago?~_

~I don't want to think about this anymore.~

 _~You don't want to *what?* Well, this is new. Hey, that's fine with me, but you started it. Are you afraid of your own *thoughts* now, Maddie? I mean, what would you do with yourself if you couldn't *think* an idea to death, thereby actually avoiding it altogether?"_

~Shut. Up.~

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

David woke up super early without the help of the alarm, which he _never_ set for Saturday mornings anyway. He yawned, scratched his head, rubbed his five o'clock shadow and squinted at the sunlight reflected through the blinds on the wall. This was a rarity. He hadn't gone to a bar or club on a Friday night. Nor had he gone to a bar or club on a Friday night, and gotten wasted. Nor had he gone to a bar or club on a Friday night, gotten wasted, and brought a woman home. Nor had he skipped the first two and just brought a woman home. Well, the last item wasn't as frequent an occurrence as some assumed. But at this moment the real kicker was he was almost wide awake at 7am on a _Saturday_ morning! And the reason for all this…?

He smiled and hoisted himself into a sitting position.

…Maddie Hayes was _dating_ him tonight! Okay, an evening out, same thing. And she planned a fun evening, knowing what he called fun, and she was doing her best because she wanted to win. Maddie wasn't a half-measure woman. She was either all or nothing and that's one of the things he luh— _liked_ about her. Yeah, liked about her. His skepticism of yesterday was gone and the excitement was back. Because Madolyn 'Blue Moon Girl' Hayes was dating _him_ , David 'Top Cat / Add-Man' Addison. _…_

Tonight! He jumped up and with an imaginary microphone broke out happily off-key into the song of the same title from West Side Story…

" _Tonight, tonight_ _  
 _It all began tonight_  
 _I saw you and the world went awaaay!__

 _Tonight, tonight_ _  
 _There's only you tonight_  
 _What you are, what you do, what you saaay…!"__

Then he began to pace wildly and, channeling as always the great Curly the Stooge, he laughed again. "Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk…!"

He felt like the male version of Cinderella (Cinder-fella? Hah!), needing to get ready for the ball. What did he need to do today? Think! A haircut and shave, without question, and a shower, two of them, one this morning and one tonight. He went into the bathroom now to floss and brush his teeth. And what was he going to wear? What was _she_ going to wear? Maddie looked great in everything but he imagined her wearing a short little number cut up to there like the women at his hangouts usually wore. David stopped mid-floss and resting his knuckles on the sink, exhaled loudly ending with a low chuckle. Clearly, imagination was a dangerous thing for the male species.

~ _Easy, boy. You don't want to combust before you get a chance to lose your glass sneaker on the palace steps.~_

So what _was_ he going to wear? He wasn't supposed to dress to impress Maddie. He was supposed to wear something he normally would when he went out _for fun_. He'd just make sure it was the best of his favorite rags, that's all, which made the choice easy. The verdict was his black leather bomber, his newest white t-shirt and newest dark blue jeans and his brand new never-been-worn-except-in-the-store white Converse sneakers. He might as well not hide how far he got down with the way he dressed outside of work. If she disapproved Maddie couldn't make any snide comments about it or she'd lose the 'points' only he could give her. Ha-ha! He had her. He had her right where he wanted her—sorta. Time to get the show on the road!

But the road wasn't cooperating. LA traffic was crazy as always, but it was getting to him more than usual. And it was hotter than usual too. Even though he was dressed in his casual pastel-colored errand clothes with comfy loafers and no socks, he was still hot. Of course it didn't help that the Bimmer's a/c was busted. And now he was in a traffic jam with no movement ahead as far as the eye could see except for the flashing lights of police cars and an EMT truck. He hoped no one was seriously hurt of course, but he felt antsy and wished they'd hurry the hell up with whatever it was. People were angrily, uselessly honking their car horns. He shrugged out of his Sonny Crocket jacket and tossed it in the passenger seat—where his partner often sat.

What kind of evening was this going to be really? His earlier euphoria was melting away with the heat and he wasn't sure why. The 'fine' evening went great for the most part. They hadn't actually argued and, except for a few slips on both their parts, Maddie treated it pretty much like a real date whether she meant to or not. But models were kinda like actresses and Maddie had been good at what she did as far as he could tell. The woman had her shields up most of the time when it came to him. What made him think she'd lower them all the way, for the first time ever, tonight?

 _~Why did he have to repeatedly remind himself of this stuff?~_

Finally, David's lane started to move and before long he'd made his way across town to the parking lot across the street from his favorite barbershop. After turning off the motor, he sat still with both hands gripping the steering wheel and stared at the brick wall in front of him. The truth was he kept his shields up around her too. The lady was often a cross between righteous angel and royal bitch. There had to be someone _else_ out there who 'got him' as much as she did. And he had to admit she did often _get_ David Addison, much to his annoyance. But there had to be other women who could do the same, who were just as beautiful, if not more, and most importantly just all around _nicer._ Like she said. What was the real point of putting himself through this double fake-date bet? Why was he making life harder for himself by trying to—? David hung his head. Had her where he wanted her, did he? He huffed in self-mockery. They were oil and water. He would never have Maddie Hayes _anywhere._ That was the only 'real point' that mattered. He quickly exited the car, slammed the door and jogged across the middle of the busy street, dodging traffic. Suddenly, he just wanted to get back to normal and get the night over with. He was regretting the whole stupid I-can-do-it-better challenge altogether. He found nothing amusing about it anymore.

The bell rang over the door as he entered the shop where the best barber on the west coast, fellow Philadelphian expatriate, Peter "Pete the Meat" McNamara, worked. The handful of regulars waiting their turn greeted him.

"Hey," he said, taking off his Ray-Bans.

Pete the Meat smiled and looked up as another satisfied customer left his chair.

"Well, lookee here! It's Baddison Addison, the spy man."

They shook hands and David took a seat. "What's shakin', Meat?"

Pete gestured for his next customer but kept looking at him and smiling without speaking. The silence stretched out.

"Okay. You know something I don't, Pete?"

"Always! You got plans for tonight?"

David looked amusedly cautious. "Yeeeah. Why?"

"Oh. Nothing. You making your way past Obscenities?"

David winced. "Not until the clientele changes, man. But you already know that, so—?"

"What about Mesmerize?"

David was feeling a pinprick of irritation with his pal. "I don't know. Maybe. Pete, you _sound_ like you know something I don't know. What is it?"

"Nothing, man. Just if you come out to play, say 'hi' to your old friend Pete.

David stared at him. "You talk like I didn't just see you last week at Dixon's. We talked for an hour. Remember?"

"Oh, that's right…"

That's when he realized everyone in the barber shop was looking at him and he felt an unfamiliar self-consciousness. He picked up a magazine and pretended to read it.

 _~What the hell is going on and do I really want to know?~_

Probably not. Especially if he was the butt of some joke. He couldn't be more _not_ in the mood for that if he tried.

Both he and Pete—and everyone else—were unusually quiet for the rest of his visit but there was a weird undercurrent of excitement in the silence, like everyone was bursting to talk but didn't because of him. So David left there feeling more agitated and out of sorts than when he went in. Was tonight going to be more of the same?

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

 _Annie's bloody hands encircled Maddie's throat. Her eyes were completely and terrifyingly all-white and stretched open wider than naturally possible. Maddie's must have been even wider with terror. Her mouth stretched open to scream but she could only make gurgling noises as Annie's corpse choked her, digging her grayish black broken nails into Maddie's flesh as she squeezed harder. She struggled wildly but couldn't move. Annie's corpse pulled Maddie so close that their noses –er, Maddie's nose and Ghoul Annie's misshapen glob—almost touched. It began to speak in a guttural voice that could pass for a demon's, spewing black blood into Maddie's eyes and mouth, all over her face and hair._

 _~~Loveless! Loveless! You are a cold loveless unfeeling thing—like me! You will die alone and rot in a forgotten grave foreverrrrrrrrr!~~_

 _And then the thing laughed in her face and Maddie felt herself losing the battle to stay alive….~~_

"NOOOOO!" she screamed, nearly leaping from the bed before she caught herself. She gasped for breath, hands at her throat. When Maddie realized her own fear was robbing her of breath, she used every ounce of willpower she had to slowly calm herself. She sobbed, running a hand through her hair, wild and tangled with sweat. She felt damp and clammy all over.

 _~What the *hell—?!*~_

She sat up on the side of the bed and drank from the glass of water on her nightstand, coughing between swallows. The clock said 3:27am. It was…Saturday, yes Saturday. She leaned forward, resting her head in her hands. That was the worst nightmare she'd ever had in her entire life. _Entire_ life.

Maddie didn't know how long she sat like that until her breath finally returned to normal and she looked up at the clock. 3:48am. She wanted a shower but she'd be damned if she played out that scene from Psycho after this! Had she eaten or drunk something bad? A drug of some kind accidentally ingested, what? After a while she got up and slowly walked to the bathroom. Her hand had a slight tremor when she flipped the light switch. Compressing her lips, she shrugged out of her thin silk nightgown and hung it up behind the door before turning on the shower, full spray, lukewarm bordering on cool. She wasn't going to be intimidated by a damn dream. She paid for this house, she paid for water, and she _loved_ showers. So that was that!

As soon as the water hit her face the healing began. But she was a thinker and couldn't let it go without trying to make sense of the nightmare. The worst part of it was that she'd been completely alone. No one was coming to save her from living-dead Annie because she didn't have anyone _to_ save her. Not her parents, not anybody. It felt like Ghoul Annie was able to trap her and keep her not because no one loved her but because _Maddie loved no one_. That's what the loveless part meant. And how awful it was to see her cousin like that—her cousin who was really dead!

Maddie rubbed her scalp as if she had shampoo and opened her mouth to the spray hitting her face, releasing it to wash down her chin. The only thing different about last night was both her anticipation and dread of 'fun' with David tonight. She hadn't eaten or done anything out of the ordinary. Could her state of mind have caused such a nightmare? She reached blindly for the shower knobs, then stepped out gingerly, taking a towel from a brass ring on the wall. It was pathetic that this juvenile fine and fun bet was the only thing in recent memory that truly engaged her five senses plus her brain outside of work. She needed to get more of a life. Her job as a private investigator really _wasn't_ enough. Maybe she _would_ look into that Book and Cook Club.

Maddie put on a fresh gown, fluffed her pillows and flapped her sheets. When she slipped under them, she felt like a different woman—one who wouldn't have dreams about family members who died young and tragically coming back as zombies to kill her. But she still couldn't sleep. She felt restless and the message in the nightmare was getting to her. She did feel loveless sometimes. She could admit to herself that often she just didn't feel lovable or loving as far as male prospects were concerned. Nor had she felt her biological clock ticking. Motherhood was never an overwhelming desire for her but she thought...she assumed that one day she would be a mother, just like she assumed that one day she would get married simply because most people eventually did. But if being single and childless—er, _child-free_ was her vocation, then she would accept it and fill her life with as much happiness and satisfaction as possible. Just like married people and parents still had to strive for. After all, in her line of work she met quite a few of _them_ who were totally and absolutely miserable. But was she actually _open_ to being happy, or did she place so many conditions on what form that happiness should take that she blindly passed by opportunities to feel it?

In the dark Maddie frowned at the ceiling. Wasn't she just thinking along these lines right before she went to sleep? Why was she rehashing all this and worse, adding to it, because of some wacky dream? Maybe this is what caused the nightmare in the first place!

"Ahhhhh!"

She pulled a pillow over her face but after a minute thrust it away. She had enough experience with restricted breathing for one night...

Maddie's thoughts ran this way into late morning, after she showered a second time, during breakfast, and while she got dressed to head out to her hair appointment. Before leaving she examined her wardrobe again, trying to decide what she'd wear tonight. She assumed that of all the clothes she had, at least one outfit would be suitable, but now she could see that this wasn't the case. She riffled through her closet, the hangers making a staccato scraping sound as she rapidly pushed one after another along the rod. All she had was officewear, 'fine'-wear and loungewear, no 'fun'-wear. If David saw her wearing anything with shoulder pads or her legs covered by a hemline reaching down to her ankles, the gig would be up, no matter what the rest of the evening was like. Besides, during her private investigation, she learned everything she needed to know about what David was used to seeing women wear when he went out. Why she didn't take note right away that she had nothing like that was a mystery to her. _Why_ she didn't have anything like that was another. She'd given the Salvation Army some clothes about two months ago. She recalled a short black flirty sleeveless number that would have come in handy tonight but for some reason it was one of the donated items. How was that the only 'little black dress' she had and why would she give it away?

 _~Maddie, Maddie, what's going *on* with you?~_

She slid her closet door shut with more force than necessary, grabbed her sunglasses and keys and ran down the steps and out the door. She wanted to visit at least one clothing store _before_ her hairdressing appointment so there wasn't a moment to lose.

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

TO BE CONTINUED ON THE NEXT FULL MOON...


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** It has been my pleasure to be your host. :-) And now for the conclusion of FINE AND FUN!

 _"Don't You Change…_

 _Some walk by night_

 _Some fly by day…_

 _Moonlighting strangers_

 _Who just met on the way…_ _"_

 **FINE AND FUN**

 **from the** ** _Moonlighting_** **, _an Alternate Universe_** **series**

 **Chapter Four:**

 **…Fun!**

That night David sat on his trunk near the front door. He continuously stopped bouncing his knee whenever he realized he was doing it again and kept checking his watch. He was dressed like he was going to a bar, a nice one. He had to remind himself not to worry about what Maddie would think of his appearance. It was his turn. _He_ was the judge tonight. Whatever he did was fine—er, fun.

He raised up a little when he heard the sound of a car pull up outside. Two cars judging by the echoing sound of engines. He was already at the door by the time someone knocked but his face froze at the sight on the other side.

"Hello, Mr. Addison," said Bert Viola with a self-satisfied, knowing smile.

"Ah…" David came out on the step, forcing Bert back a little, and looked left and right. Then his eyes focused on two cars. "Bert, what are you doing here?" he said faintly, his eyes glued to the scarlet red 1985 Trans Am, only a year old and shiny as a new nickel.

"Do you like my new car, sir?" The shorter man looked like he was about to burst with glee.

"Hi, Mr. Addison!" called Miss DiPesto, waving enthusiastically from the driver's side of her own vehicle, a modest Beetle.

David finally tore his eyes away from the sleek car. "Miss DiPesto." He waved back uncertainly and turned to stare at Bert.

"Sir, is it not a lovely night for a drive—with an even lovelier woman?"

" _Bert._ What is going on?"

Still grinning, Bert presented him with a thick white business envelope and dangled keys in front of his face. "My instructions are simply to give you this envelope and these keys. "

David slowly took both from him.

"Have a _very_ good night, sir." And with that Bert spun on his heel and walked to the Beetle where he and Miss DiPesto argued about who would drive. Grumbling, he stalked to the passenger side when Miss DiPesto won and with another merry wave and a _'Have a great night, Mr. Addison!'_ she pulled away with a screech of tires, Bert's shouts of alarm and scolding heard all the way down the street until they turned the corner.

David looked down at the objects in his hands and the car parked in front of his door, his wide eyes hopping back and forth like a Looney Toons cartoon character. He twirled the keys around on a finger then used one to open the envelope. Inside was one sheet of pink perfumed note paper…and money. Instructions were written in neat cursive handwriting.

' _For a fun evening, pick me up at seven o'clock and take me to Dinardo's Famous Steaks. Afterwards we're getting Mesmerize(d).' ~~Maddie_

That's it. That's all the note said. But the car! Wow. It was definitely a rental, but when Maddie went big, she went _really_ big. He walked around it and whistled low, feeling the pump of blood through his veins. His feelings about this date or evening out or settling a bet or whatever were like a swinging pendulum. But at least he wasn't bored!

He went back in and grabbed his leather jacket. A thought made him pause and he smirked to himself, heading for his bedroom. When he slid into the driver's seat of the sleek red beauty, he leaned back, luxuriating. He flipped down the visor mirror and grinned, looking at the two silver ear cuffs on the right ear. Yeah, yeah, right side kinda indicated he might be looking for _a boyfriend_ but it wasn't a strict rule. It was more of a casual guideline. Besides, he'd been approached by super friendly men before while wearing _no_ earrings, so... Anyway, Maddie would be looking at his right side in the car and he wanted her to get the full effect of his appearance. He flipped the visor back up and turned the ignition.

"Ohhh, yeahhhh..."

Honestly, if all Maddie did this evening was send him this car, he was satisfied that she knew how to do fun like _he_ defined fun! He gunned the motor before taking off with his own screech of tires. He wouldn't tell her that though, not until the end of the night. He'd like it more if he could tell her in the morning—after _breakfast._ Ah, well…a guy could dream, couldn't he? And some dreams came true after all. He should know. He persuaded a sexy ex-model to work with him in a low-budget, or rather _no_ budget, private investigation business that didn't really do a whole lot of business—which wasn't for want of enthusiasm.

As he burned rubber on the road like he was in an episode of Miami Vice, all he knew for certain right then was, he had that Cinder-fella feeling back again and this warm summer night was full of so many possibilities…

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

Maddie waited on her couch. She wouldn't look at herself in a mirror for the hundredth time. She knew what she'd see and it would make her feel like chickening out. She did however fiddle around inside her purse for…whatever. She just needed something to do with her hands while her thoughts were on repeat. She wasn't sure what possessed her to buy this dress. No, that wasn't true. About a year ago she'd had a strange dream about David and his ex-wife before Maddie ran off and followed him to New York for his ex-brother-in-law's funeral. She never examined too closely why she went and then she let the passage of time do the rest. The whole dream was one big musical about David working in a New York bar, meeting a jezebel and marrying her with less than happy results. At the end Maddie danced into the bar in a short blue sleeveless dress to put a smile back on a jilted David's face with quite an energetic kiss. Such a dream must have been brought on by the spicy Chinese food she remembered having that night. Anyway, in Bergdorf Goodman's she'd found a dress almost exactly like the one in the dream. It accentuated the blue of her eyes which was her favorite fashion trick, hugged her shape, and showed off her legs with a hemline much higher than she could recall wearing in recent years. She also had a matching light shawl and blue sandals that could be certified as ankle-breaking stilettos if the heels were any higher, which meant the flatter matching blue shoes in her bag were a necessity if she was going to dance.

Although she made all the plans Maddie had firm beliefs about which sex should do what during an _evening out_. Women's lib was great but she wasn't about to pick a man up to go out socially on a Saturday night. It just wouldn't feel right, bet or no bet. She smiled to herself thinking that David would hardly mind the arrangements she'd made because of this. He'd be pleased from the start and that would give her a high 'starting score' which should set the tone for the rest of the night. At this point all she had to do was sit with her legs crossed and smile all night.

Knowing David Addison however, he wouldn't let it be _that_ easy for her, and perhaps it shouldn't. He put together a fine evening at a moment's notice and in her opinion she hadn't exactly been the most easy-going date. At least she hadn't treated him like she did at work.

Maddie frowned. Where had that thought come from? What was wrong with the way she treated David at work? After all, her demeanor was always— _mostly_ —professional, as it should be, while David…well, he was King of the Wobblies, which explained her treatment of him at work and everywhere else.

The sound of a very sleek motor came from outside and after a minute her doorbell chimed. To her chagrin, her heart leaped into her throat—déjà vu!—but she walked casually to the door, using every modeling trick she knew to appear perfectly serene and poised even when she felt the opposite. She opened it and they both stared at each other, frozen in their respective spots.

David was…well, he looked very handsome in a…'Big Man on Mulberry Street' kind of way, emphasis on the street. Unconsciously Maddie parted her lips. Actually David looked very handsome period. And benignly dangerous—if danger could be benign, that is. She tried to smile naturally.

"Hello, David." She blushed because of his obvious approval when he gave her a slow leisurely once-over, a half smile creeping up one side of his face.

"Hi." He produced a bunch of fresh flowers, so fresh they looked like they'd just been ripped from the ground.

"Thank you," she said, wondering why her voice was approaching Marilyn Monroe-level breathlessness. She cleared her throat delicately. "Come in while I put these in water."

David breathed out a sigh as quietly as he could, watching her walk away. Good Golly Miss Molly! Known 'round here as Miss Maddie! ~ _Where did she get that dress?~_ She should wear it every day! He loved seeing her bare shoulders and arms and legs...and everything. There was no curve of hers left untouched by that dress and his hands were jealous as hell.

She returned, put on her shawl and said, "I hope what I'm wearing is okay. Where are we going?"

Okay, so she wanted to play the part and he certainly didn't mind. Just the opposite, in fact.

"I thought we'd stop by Dinardo's Famous Steaks before hitting the floor at Mesmerize. How's that sound?"

She nodded agreeably. "Sounds great."

"Okay, then! Shall we?"

David enjoyed Maddie's skillful stroll in those high heels. He'd always been impressed by women who could pull that off without looking like they were balancing themselves on a tightrope. He jogged to the passenger side to help her in with chivalrous flourish. He took off his jacket and tossed it in the back where it would stay for the rest of the night. When he slid into the drivers seat Maddie took in the earrings, the biceps, the whole white t-shirt Brando effect. She caught herself staring and looked straight ahead instead.

During the ride they were quiet, an anticipatory tension in the silence.

Maddie was the one who broke it with a touch of humor. "Nice ride."

"Yeah. And I thank…my lucky stars for it. It was very cool of my lucky stars to do this." He turned away with a gentle smile. "And I'll be grateful forever."

"I'm sure the lucky stars are simply glad you're enjoying it. That's gratitude enough."

David reached over and took her hand from her lap to raise it to his lips for a brief kiss.

"Thank you," he said quietly. She only smiled.

At Dinardo's David seated Maddie as a waiter hovered nearby after placing menus on the table.

"Hi, I'm Adam. I'll be your waiter tonight. Let me tell you about our specials…And while you're thinking about that. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Maddie almost ordered her tried and true, but paused and looked at David. "What are you drinking?"

"Well…I'm in the mood for a Guinness Stout."

"I'll have one too," she said decisively.

David stopped himself from asking her if she was sure. As far as he knew Maddie had never consumed beer in her life and he couldn't imagine her liking it, but that wasn't supposed to be his concern tonight. His only job tonight was to be himself and assess her rendition of fun.

"Great! I'll be right back," said Adam.

They studied their menus. Maddie already knew what David was going to order. This was a steak-lovers restaurant and he was absolutely a steak man. He probably wanted the porterhouse, but he'd settle for prime rib because he wouldn't want to 'waste her money.' She felt it in her bones and decided to pave the way for him not to worry about it.

"I heard the porterhouse steak was very good here. Have you ever had it?"

"Ah…yeah, a while back."

"I'm going to try it. How about you?"

David couldn't believe it. Dinardo's was also known for their seafood and Maddie was crazy about eating anything that swam.

He chuckled. "I'll think I'll join you."

They ate their identical meals in what appeared on the outside as a companionable silence but each of them was having wordy conversations in their own heads, not with each other.

David felt weirdly tongue-tied and awkward. He was not being his relaxed smooth-talking self on a weekend date. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Maddie looked as stunningly beautiful as she ever had and then some. Maybe it was that he was afraid to break the spell of them not arguing about anything—or the spell of her genuine smiles lighting up her baby blues. It was hard to look into them without certain feelings heating up.

 _~Your feelings?~_

[Certain feelings, yeah. So?] _,_ he answered himself defensively.

 _~Do tell. What feelings? You won't talk to her and you're looking like an idiot, which means this night is a bust, so you might as well talk to me!~_

[Hey, pal. The night ain't no bust, not pour moi! _She's_ the one on the hook to provide a fun night. All I gotta do is sit back. And who are you anyway?]

 _~I'm the non-stupid part of you. And if you think you can fool me into believing that drivel you just said then you don't know me. I know what you want.~_

[Shut up.] David grit his teeth in warning to…himself. He didn't notice Maddie looking at him quizzically because he was looking down at his plate.

 _~I can't. These are *your* thoughts. You want what you've always wanted since this woman walked into your life but so far you haven't had the *guts* to go get it…"_

"David!"

He jerked his head up. "What?!" And knocked his beer all over the table.

 _~Smooth, man. *Real* smooth…"_

"[Suck my big one,]" he muttered. Maddie's eyes narrowed and he realized he spoke aloud and blushed, actually blushed. _Jeezus._ "Sorry." He began to frantically wipe the table off with the 10,000 napkins Adam left for them.

Maddie shook her head and put her forkful of apple pie down to take a sip of her Irish liqueur coffee.

"David."

He stopped mid-wipe. "Huh?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, why would you think that?"

She sighed. So far the evening hadn't been that much fun. They ate in silence which was awkward. She did enjoy the Guinness Stout though. Anyway, she herself hadn't helped the situation and she was supposed to be the fun master tonight. She couldn't salvage things now since dinner was basically over. She'd make up for it at Mesmerize; she'd have some help there. She also needed to loosen up a little. David was following her lead, which meant she was about as dull as dish water right now.

"You okay, Maddie? Look, I'm sorry about the spill and my little slip of the tongue."

"Oh no! That's not—I'm fine." She forced a smile. "And soon I'll be fun." She winked and he blinked. "You'll see." She put a big forkful in her mouth. It was the best apple pie she'd had in a long time and she wiped her mouth delicately. "I feel the need to dance some of these calories off. Shall we go?"

David cleared his throat. "Waiter! Check please…"

~~l~u~n~a~r~~

They arrived at Mesmerize about 9pm. It was a cavernous place with soft lighting reflected on all the shiny surfaces. And while many patrons were there tonight, the layout of the place gave the feeling of roominess. David went to take Maddie's shawl from her shoulders to give to the coat-check girl but she demurred. You never knew when a place would get chilly and she wasn't exactly sure how much David wanted to dance. It was thin enough to fold and tuck into her purse. She found out he had quite a social circle here and was popular with the ladies. Maddie tried not to think about that last part because it gave her a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach which was ridiculous. Instead, she concentrated on the welcome feel of his hand casually resting on her lower back to guide her further into the room. Of course they didn't get far before he was recognized even under an area with low lighting.

"It's the Add-Man!" called Pete from the bar and several people there made a commotion, greeting David.

"Looks like you're the MVP around here," Maddie said teasingly. She noticed that he looked charmingly embarrassed about it. _Him._ David Addison, Jr. Embarrassed by his own magnetic pull on people. This was a revelation.

He briefly exchanged words with Pete and introduced Maddie to everyone. Of course Maddie and Pete and 'everyone' pretended they were meeting for the first time. Then David led Maddie to a cosy table in a corner. It was the only cosy corner table left and the only reason they got it was that the couple who was just there vacated the seats to continue their heated argument elsewhere.

"Hope they take all that bad karma with them," David muttered wryly.

Maddie reached across the table and patted his arm. "Don't worry. We're impenetrable against that kind of thing."

David chuckled, enjoying this side of her. "Are we? I hadn't noticed but that's good to know."

The Temptations "My Girl" was playing over the sound system…

They looked at each other for several long moments until a waitress came over, popping gum. "Can I get y'all something to drink?" She peered at David. " _Dave,_ it's you! How you doin', honey?"

"Doing good, Shirl. You?"

"Great—now that you're here to liven up the place." She glanced good-humoredly at Maddie. "You're sittin' with a real live ace here, sugar. Hold on to this one."

To David's complete surprise, Maddie wore a Mona Lisa-type smile and said, "I'll try." He chuckled again delightedly, glad she couldn't see the blush he felt heating up his face. He didn't know what had gotten into his lady boss, but he prayed it would stay! And what was up with him... _man-blushing_ tonight?

"So—drinks?" asked Shirl.

Maddie tilted her head, studying David, then broke out with another smile. "Do you have Seagram's wine coolers?"

"Do we ever! What flavor you want, sugar?"

"The original."

"You got it. How about you, Dave?"

He laughed a little, shaking his head. "The same. Thanks, Shirl."

"Don't mention it!"

When she left, David leaned forward on the table and motioned to the space beside Maddie. "It's kinda loud in here for talking across tables. May I?"

She nodded, smile still in place.

David felt like he was in an episode of the Twilight Zone where he was entering an alternate _better_ reality. No, more like Fantasy Island! He eased beside her, not wanting to disturb whatever was happening. They sat closer than two co-workers just working on a bet would, but she didn't turn away, her expression open, welcoming in a non-flirty way, with the possibility of becoming flirty lingering in the air.

David looked down at the table, tapping his fingers lightly. He wasn't supposed to be nervous. This was fun. Maddie was being fun. He loosened the leash on his natural impulses where she was concerned just a little more—and carefully put his arm around the back of her chair, angling his upper body towards her.

And still she didn't move or change expression.

He leaned further towards her ear, bringing them almost cheek to cheek. "How's this? You okay?"

"Uh huh."

Shirl brought their drinks and grinned widely without saying anything when she saw Dave making moves on the pretty blonde lady who looked familiar. This one was no giggling ninny like a lot of the women who threw themselves at him. Shirl studied them covertly as she laid napkins down. The classy duchess looked friendly enough, and Dave could brighten anyone's gray day. They were an interesting match. _He_ seemed smitten anyway.

Maddie sipped her Seagram's, blindly watching Shirl walk away while intensely aware of David's closeness. He was smiling at her and she turned and smiled back, even in the dim light able to see the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. She hid her reaction to his thumb brushing softly over her bare shoulder by taking a few mini-gulps of the mild beverage.

The Delfonics "La La Means I Love You" came over the speakers and David cleared his throat, giving her a softened version of his lopsided smile as he stood up. "Would you like to dance?"

She hesitated. "One moment." She changed her shoes and put her hand in his. He took her slowly into the midst of the crowded floor and pulled her into a respectable waltz position, moving her gently to the rhythm. Maddie looked around and saw that all the women had their arms around their partners' necks and the men had theirs around the women's waists—the slow drag clinch. So, when in Rome….

Maddie discreetly took a deep breath and moved into the 'slow dance' position and David followed her lead, his pulse speeding up. They kept their gazes averted. The next song was Smokey Robinson's "Ooo, Baby, Baby" and the lights were dimmed on the dance floor even more and David held her a little closer, a little tighter. Maddie didn't feel his breath against her. Was he holding it? Well, since she had gone this far….

She felt David jerk ever so slightly when she readjusted her hold on him and rested her head against his shoulder, her lips a breath away from the column of his neck. David hoped she couldn't hear him swallow. If this was a dream he _never_ wanted to wake up. Maddie had initiated The Clinch and then a closer Clinch. Oddly, in this moment he felt vulnerable. This is the kind of interaction that said two people were beginning a courtship that could lead to things _._ Good things. Special things. Sexy things….

That stupid little voice in his said, _"Love_ things?," which he ignored. Or rather wished he could ignore. Because if he was honest something major changed for him the first time he hurt her and she slapped him. No, no, he wasn't into BDSM. It was just that, although he hid it like most of his true feelings, it unexpectedly hurt him when he hurt her. He felt like that every time he knew he hurt her, even when he was angry with her and in the heat of the moment thought she deserved what he said. And then there were the fleeting times when she was sweet to him and then his head and the rest of him felt full of her sugar.

Now there was _this_ moment. And all bets seemed to be off. All because of a little dancing. Wow.

They danced all night until Maddie's feet hurt even in her spare lower-heeled shoes. Fast songs, slow songs, all doo wop sensuality. And she flirted with him and touched him and he did the same back. She was glad he couldn't see how much she blushed even while reaching for him. In between dances when they had to rest they made easy small talk that was more of an excuse to remain physically close, ostensibly in order to hear each other over the music. And Maddie didn't analyze anything.

It was perfect.

Now as she melted against the headrest in the Trans Am, blinking drowsily to the purr of the engine, she thought the only thing that was missing was a kiss. She was disappointed that he hadn't tried. She thought she felt him kiss her hair once but if so, he must not have meant for her to notice. In fact, just before they left and she was still all smiles, he suddenly became reserved and now it was starting to bother her. She opened her eyes to the patter of raindrops on the windows and glanced at David who was staring straight ahead. He hadn't said a word since they left Mesmerize. Maddie's lips twisted slightly before she turned away again.

David had so many words bubbling under the surface of his strained silence. Every step of the way tonight he worried so much about saying or doing something to ruin what was happening between them that right now he was doing exactly that. He could feel it. The bald truth was, he wanted her. Now. He wanted Maddie. This wasn't new but he'd kept the feeling contained because up until this moment he'd been damn sure there was nothing that he could do about it. But now? Maybe it was still 'nothing doing' but he felt like a live wire. He wanted to begin something real between them. The difference in their personalities was staggering sometimes but damned if they didn't fit like a lock and key once they laid their weapons down and enjoyed each other's company. It was a revelation of what _could_ be. But here he was not talking to her and they were getting close to home. The walls would go up with talk about bets and challenges while they retreated to their defensive corners again after having come so close to something so much better.

David glanced out of the corner of his eye when Maddie took what sounded like a shaky breath and put on this bright but phony smile, completely unlike all the others she'd given him tonight. The retreat had begun.

"Well, admit it. I gave you a very fun night, didn't I?" Then she gave him a tolerant, condescending look. "I guess the King of the Wobblies can report back that the _blonde beast—"_ David's head whipped around, "Well, isn't that what you all call me? Anyway, you can tell the faithful serfs—well, faithful to you anyway—that I'm not all claws. And you did okay too, by the way. So no more silly bets and challenges, Addison. We're done….Hey!" she yelped as he swerved the car to the curb and parked with jerky movements. They were seven blocks away from her house.

"David, why have we stopped here? Why do you look like that? What's wrong with you?"

"Maddie."

"I don't like the way you're looking. Is this because my night was just as much fun as yours was fine? Maybe yours was a little finer, okay? Are you happy?" But her voice died on the last syllable, fading into shallow breathing as she recognized the thick tension permeating the car.

David could convey _so_ much with a look. Tell everyone to beware when David Addison finally stopped talking and just looked at you—like now. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed his seat back as far as it could go. Maddie's heart beat against her breastbone, audibly in her opinion, from the heat emanating from that _look._ With a sudden fluid motion he freed her from her seatbelt as well, hauled her across his lap and tunneled his hands in her hair for a firm but gentle grip. He kissed her, smothering the sound she made. She twisted as much as she could from her sideways position to press her front to his. Maddie held his face, opened her mouth and returned every exploring lick, slide and caress of his tongue. The brief experience she had before of the way he kissed was nothing, _nothing,_ compared to this! It was a wild, rhythmic, thorough tasting that went on and on and on...She felt herself becoming tight and ripe for the taking, _his_ taking, only him...

 _"Maddie...!"_ he muttered against her, wrapping his arms around her to run his hands over her back and waist, his fingers playing up and down the bare space between her shoulder blades. She gave a soft gasp, half disappointed, half welcoming the extra oxygen when David broke their marathon liplock to go no further than sucking a slow path of kisses across her cheek and down the column of her neck, past her collarbone... She gasped and arched to give him full access.

"David!" she said breathlessly.

"god, _yes!..._ " His words were smothered high against her breast where he took a gentle nip, making her jerk and cry out. David did not know where he got the strength to pull back between kisses and move her carefully over to the passenger seat but it was apparently a success by the dazed, disappointed look on Maddie's face but she said nothing. He had to stop looking at her sexily disheveled hair, lips made plump from his kiss, the rise and fall of her breasts, or he'd be on her again in seconds. What she did to him, good god!

Leaning back he blew out a harsh breath and rubbed hands over his face. "Maddie, I—" He didn't believe the next words he intended to say, but here they were… "Can we talk?" He was hoarse and cleared his throat. "I—need to talk to you."

She was still looking somewhat out-of-it. "Talk to me?"

He was uncertain of how she would take it when he said, "Now. I mean, at your place."

She looked away from him. "Sure. At my place? Sure. Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

Lacking heat the exchange sounded flat to his ears, unlike when they were ending an argument before giving each other a mutual silent treatment.

Maybe he should have kept on kissing her—kept on kissing the woman that he…that he….

 _~Ya think? Dope!~_

They drove the rest of the way in silence and soon he was standing in the middle of her living room watching her lock the door. When she turned to face him they just stared at each other until Maddie asked him if he wanted something to drink.

"Fine. Good," he said absently. "Wait, I mean _no._ Can we—?" He gestured towards her couch.

Maddie sat, actually wanting something to drink, something strong. During the brief awkward drive she distractedly thought that by the time they got to the house whatever this was would dissipate. They'd kissed before and nothing came of it. Right? They met each other's challenges and got carried away in the playacting.

 _Right?_

David watched her with that inscrutable gaze of his, something faintly inviting in it. He sighed, moving closer to her, reached for her hand and looked back up at her with a small smile. He looked so cute.

 _Wrong!_ Maddie answered her own inner question. _But what now?..._

"Maddie, tonight wasn't just about the bet." She saw a tick in his cheek, but his soft smile remained in place. "Was it?"

Her nerves were taut. "You first. Since you—brought it up."

"That kiss, Maddie…." He let the words hang there, watching her.

She looked down, nodding shyly. "Yeah. That kiss…."

"Look, I had a great time tonight. A _great_ time. Better than any time I can remember since—you walked into City of Angels." He looked down, smoothing her hand firmly between his. "And I knew then that I finally met my kind of angel." His soft gaze warmed her face. "You."

She gave him a small smile and didn't say anything for a moment but she didn't pull away. "That is sweet, David. But...we've been a certain way with each other all this time. And now after tonight, all that's changed?"

Her heart fluttered when he pressed a kiss against her knuckles, pinning her with a look of raw longing which disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced by a wry smile. "Oh, I think a better word is 'evolved.' No! We've—grown. You know boys and their growth spurts."

Maddie tilted her head. "Is this growth spurt the lasting kind, or will things shrink back to normal tomorrow—with everything disappearing into the void of 'let's-pretend-it-never-happened'?"

"I'm definitely gonna go with door number one."

"You are? I'm not sure."

"Well," he began softly, leaning close. "How about this?" And kissed her again, gently exploring.

Maddie responded but not fully like before. He pulled back only far enough for her to breathe, watching. Waiting…

They sat that way for several heartbeats until Maddie shook her head helplessly and kissed him back fervently. David silently mouthed an exultant _'Yes!'_ as he swallowed his name on her lips. She clutched at him desperately, pulling him over her, leaning back haphazardly against the couch pillows.

After long moments of bliss, David's consciousness began to swim to the surface of an ocean of sensation. Self-control sent a lifeboat and he grabbed it. Maddie was still going strong with her breaststroke but he tried to slow their kisses down. He felt all this from basically just kissing her? Heaven help him!

"Maddie." Her name came out on a strangled note and he struggled to think straight.

"Yeah?" She didn't sound any better, her voice muffled against his neck, her hands moving all over his back and shoulders, hugging him close. He was dying with the pleasure, his emotions strung out tautly. When he attempted to put an inch or two of air between them, she smiled mischievously and squeezed his ass-ets, making him jerk with a gruff laugh. David carefully sat up and took her with him.

Eyes bright with humor and desire barely held in check, he cupped her cheek, stroking with his thumb. She pushed into his palm, kissing him.

"Maddie _,_ " he sighed.

"That is my name." He heard laughter in her voice. She started to kiss his neck again. "Do you…have something...else to…say?"

"Baby, please. I don't want to go too fast," he whispered, his hands motionless on her upper arms.

She stopped. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, believe it or not, I want to talk about this. Us. I want to get some things clear."

Maddie sat all the way back and ran a hand through her hair. "I thought everything was pretty clear a second ago."

David was trying to find the right words or at least avoid the wrong ones. He remembered moments in their shared past when it seemed like they weren't going to fight but instead move onto more companionable ground, when somehow, some way, he'd say something to trigger her doubts and she'd shut down on him like a falling guillotine blade. Then it would be _months_ before such a moment would happen again. This had been much more than a moment but Maddie could balk at any time, any second, and he wouldn't see it coming. However, fortune favored the bold and he'd never been that with her, not like now. He had to run fast and hard with it to reach the goal.

"This is what I want to make perfectly clear." He looked at her then. "I want a chance with you, Maddie."

She sat up straighter, not saying anything as she looked at him with a focused but unreadable expression. David wasn't sure that boded well, but what the hell, he'd go for broke like he did for everything he _really_ wanted.

"I want us to date. I want to _court_ you. _"_

"Sooo…not as a challenge or a bet, not as opponents?"

He leaned to toward her, his eyes vividly green. "Oh definitely not opponents, no bets, and the only challenge would be, who would kiss whom _first_ every day."

"Every day. I see."

Maddie stood up and began to pace slowly in front of him. He hoped to god she wasn't putting up any barriers to the idea in that blonde noggin.

"Talk to me, lady. I'm hanging on a ledge and it's getting cold out here alone."

"Oh, you're hardly alone." She sat on a chair directly opposite him. Way over there. _Hmmmmm…._

She smiled in a flustered way. "David, change doesn't happen overnight."

"A minute ago on this couch I thought it already had."

"You sound—annoyed."

"I'm not. I just don't want you to shut me out because you don't think it could work, that _we_ could work."

"Come on, David. You have to admit that we _are_ fundamentally different people."

He rolled his eyes wearily. "Oh my god."

"What?"

He ran frustrated fingers through his hair.

"Maddie honey, every person on the planet is _fundamentally different_ from every other person on the planet. But we got more going for us than differences, a lot more."

"We _argue,_ David. All the time. We scream and argue and slam doors. I don't do that and I don't want to do that with men that I'm— _seeing."_

David blew out a breath. "Maybe…we've been doing all that since day one because we _haven't_ been _seeing_ each other. Okay? And if we do see each other, we won't do all that anymore—much."

She looked as if she didn't quite buy that but wasn't discounting it altogether. He got up.

"What are you doing?"

He came and hunkered down in front of her.

"I need this back." He took her hand and started fondling it and Maddie could feel things fluttering inside. "Hey look. Real talk? Maddie Hayes, I've been gone on you ever since I first met you. Y'know, when you tried to fire me while looking at me like I was gum under your shoe? Now, coming from another woman that would turn me off. Should have turned me off. I know because it's happened before."

"What? Who?"

"Uh-uh, that's another story—one I might share with a woman I'm _seeing_ —maybe."

"Oh really now?"

"Well, really _then_ —maybe."

"No, no…" Maddie stood up again and so did he. "This is what we do. There's always an edge. Someone I'm with…I—" She gestured with her hands. "—I want to be comfortable. I don't want to be always on the lookout for a verbal dig or attack, or getting tricked or goaded into something. It's stressful. David, we're stressful together. I'm not saying we don't work well together, on cases, because we do. In fact—Blue Moon wouldn't exist without you."

"Maddie—thanks. But the stress part, it doesn't have to be like that _,_ is what I'm trying to tell you!" He shook his head, sighing, and moved near to rub her folded arms. "It doesn't have to be like that, Maddie," he whispered pleadingly. "Give us a chance. Any risk would be worth it to me." He dipped his head, trying to get her to look up. "Wouldn't it be worth it to you? Because I think we'd be absolutely, the lord's lovin' truth, _spectacular_ together. I can see it now! We'd make the front covers of Newsweek and Time magazine, and Oprah would have us on for a two-hour primetime special to tell America—and the world—how good lovin' is _done."_

Maddie laughed a little, mildly exasperated at his exuberant gesticulations while she was on the edge of indecision. "We'd have to show how 'being-in-the-same-room-together-without-the-clash-of-the-Titans' is done, before showing _good_ anything else. And another thing, I wouldn't be in this for casual giggles and laughs."

"Well, whaddaya know, we have even more in common. I'm not in this for just that either." He was smiling widely.

"David…" she dragged his name out, uncertainty dripping from both syllables. He pulled her back down to the couch.

"Come're. Now look. We'll take it slooww, nice and slow, but with steady forward motion. I know what we've been doing for two years but _now_ we know we can do something else, something different, and still be _us_ but happier. I see a win-win here, lady, because I'll tell you something else….Even with all the knock out/drag outs, intended puns and below the belt right hooks, I look forward to being with you every day. And whenever I go out and meet some other woman—" At this Maddie's gaze chilled but she stayed focused on his words. "—Yeah, see that look? How do you think I feel every time you go out with one of your Mr. Success people, guys you choose who are always _nothing_ like me?"

"David, how was I supposed-?" He held up a hand.

"We digress. I was just _saying_ , that whenever I'm with some one else, I can't remember a time since you and I met that I didn't wish she was you. So I'd come back to work and sometimes pick fights with the cute girl in class to get her attention and get her to talk to me, or even shout at me…because I was sure she'd laugh in my face if I told her how I really felt about her."

When his voice cracked on the last word, Maddie's chest flooded with warmth and she said in a small voice, "Well, that girl was—certainly eager to engage with you because…she didn't know if she let this boy in, whether she'd get hurt and feel like a fool. So…insults and door slamming seemed safer?"

She ended the statement like a question, distracted and unnerved by David's intense stare.

"Yeah." He sounded equally distracted. "So, um…if I'm able to get reservations for McCormick and Shmick's next Saturday…would you go out with me again?"

Maddie bit her bottom lip, thinking. She looked so sweet and adorable doing it that he wanted to scoop her up in an endless kiss right then, but hearing her answer was too important for what would be an all-consuming sidetrack!

"Well…I have a date already for Saturday—"

Now David was the one who was chilled, feeling frozen in place.

"— _but_ I could…cancel it?" Inwardly Maddie cringed. Why was she turning her statements into questions now?

And he loved her question! "You could? Oh! Yes, you _definitely_ could! In fact, you positively _should._ Absolutely no question about it, if you wanna know what I think.

She gave him a wry glance. "I guess I do. But if I cancel this other date, what if you can't get reservations?" She smiled. "I get hungry on Saturday nights."

The biggest, happiest grin she'd ever seen on his face slowly spread across it. "I'll surprise you, Maddie Hayes."

Her eyelids lowered. "You already have. How about another surprise right now?"

"Ahhh, let me see…" He pretended to think hard about what he could do, then snapped his fingers. "I got it! You ready?"

She leaned back against the cushions and raised her arms behind her head in a come-hither pose. "Mm-hmmm.

When he moved over her, she wrapped them sensually around him….

~l~u~n~a~r~

The next morning David stood in front of the mirror, staring critically at his reflection, smoothing his hair and turning this way and that. Finally he stood straight and still and with a frustrated sound started the grooming dance routine all over again. He was really losing it. Hadn't been this wound up with anticipation since that fateful rainy afternoon with Tess back in high school. He ended up getting a wife and an extreme case of low self-esteem out of _that_ deal. He started whistling an upbeat tune, grabbed his car keys and was out the door.

It was another hot day in LA. Weren't they all? It was too bad the Bimmer's a/c, which he just had fixed, was only halfway working now. It hurt to take that beautiful Trans Am back to the rental place Maddie got it from early that morning. But the Bimmer held a lot of good memories of time spent with his lady boss. He was definitely taking it back to the mechanic today. Couldn't have Maddie sweating in the car.

 _[David looks at the audience with a saucy grin_. _]_ " _No, I'm not going to say it! I am not!"_

At a traffic light David shrugged clumsily out of his suit jacket, tossed in the passenger seat and loosened his tie. _~Why'd he even bother with all that primping before?~_ He was able to roll down his window too before the guy behind him honked a second time. He waved apologetically and took off with a screech of tires, one hand on the wheel and the other hanging casually outside.

Whew! That was better. Now he could think. Actually he hadn't stopped thinking since leaving Maddie last night. _No,_ he didn't try to stay. He didn't try to press his advantage to get into her bed. That's not what he wanted…

 _[The audience collectively raises an eyebrow.]_

Ahhhhh…Okay, _yes,_ that's absolutely positively exactly what he wanted, but he wanted so much more.

First, he wanted Maddie as close to 'tied-up' body and soul as he could get her. He wanted her to fully commit. To _him._ And he was crazy because it was too damn soon. Sure, they definitely crossed a threshold, and sure, Maddie was definitely receptive to moving forward with it. But a couple of soul-stirring kisses with her on the couch late in the night guaranteed _nothing_ with Madolyn Hayes in the cold light of day.

The thought suddenly made him feel a little queasy. Then a guy raced past him in a lamborghini, the dust it blew up making David cough and grab the wheel with both hands. There had been a blonde on the passenger's side who resembled Maddie as far as he could tell, more of an impression of Maddie really. In the cold—or rather hot—light of a summer morning it would certainly be in character for Maddie to completely change her mind and give him the cold shoulder. Nobody could freeze off a guy's manhood like her. She liked order, control, predictability—all qualities he had to struggle with when situations called for him to have them. And let's face it, she was used to rubbing shoulders with men of status. He could see it now. She'd be with him and then see some guy in a lamborghini and then suddenly realize she wanted a guy like that after all, a Mr. Success, no matter how David made her feel. And oh yes, he knew how he made her feel! If it was only half as deep as what he felt for her, then he _might_ have a chance. Because he didn't know what the hell he was going to do if she said 'no' _now_ after he practically laid his heart out on a plate for her, knife and fork included.

~l~u~n~a~r~

It was 9:15am and Maddie was pacing in her office. He wasn't in yet. He didn't call after he left her last night. Well, she guessed there was no absolute need for him to do so. After all, the plan was to talk again in the morning. His plan in fact. She was surprised he didn't try to stay _._ David Addison was indeed an unpredictable man. He could be too crude for words, he believed in God, he could be childish, he didn't smoke, he was principled in many ways and good with children and the elderly. He was the direct opposite of a workaholic. He was also scared to death of squirrels and mice but not snakes or tarantulas, —all of which they'd had to deal with on a particularly wacky case that he talked her into last year. He didn't have the one-track mind she often accused him of having. _His_ mind often operated on multiple tracks simultaneously. Could she deal with his mercurial nature on an intimate level?

"Ms. Hayes!"

Maddie jumped and turned a disapproving gaze to her receptionist. _"Please_ don't sneak up and shout like that, Miss DiPesto."

Agnes pulled the earbuds of her Walkman out. "Oh. I'm sorry, Ms. Hayes. Bert made a music tape for me and wouldn't leave me alone until I listened to it. I just wanted to tell you that Mr. Addison was here."

"Here?"

Agnes shook her head vigorously, noticing a strange expression cross Maddie's face. Was that a deer-caught-in-headlights look or something else?

"Mr. Addison is _here? I_ didn't see him."

"Well…not here in _this_ office. Here in _his_ office. I thought you'd like to know."

"I mean...I didn't hear him. When did he get in?"

"Oh, about fifteen minutes ago. I was on the phone with a potential client who wanted to talk about how I answer the phone. He wanted to hear all my different greetings. Mr. Addison came in while I was on the fifth one. I still had a lot more but I thought I was spending too much time on the phone with someone who didn't seem like he was going to use our services and then he asked me what I was wearing, so I—"

"I see."

Agnes watched Maddie turn slowly and sit back at her desk, steepling her fingers.

"Ms. Hayes?"

"Yes, well—" Maddie started shuffling the papers on her desk. "Is there anything else, Miss DiPesto?"

Agnes knew what that question meant. "No, Ms Hayes," she said and left her employer to brood in peace.

Afterward, Maddie caught herself staring at the same sentence on a page for a full two minutes.

~l~u~n~a~r~

David was finally ready. He tugged at his suit jacket one more time. No more stalling! He could do this. He'd lay it on the line again, the morning-after, and see if she was still with him—if the warm, loving, _sexy_ Maddie who smiled and laughed and touched him last night still existed. Or had the _other one_ taken over? He fiddled with his special occasion cuff links. No, no way. He wouldn't think like that. He was going to go get his woman, that's what he was going to do! Yeah…

He took a couple swigs of his chocolate milk, rinsed his mouth out, making sure he didn't get any stains or wet spots on his best work suit and strolled out the door with the LA Times under his arm.

"I'm goin' in. If I don't make it back, send this home to my family in Philly," he said to Agnes, tossing the paper down and saluting her.

She returned the gesture with an encouraging smile. "Will do, Mr. Addison."

The Wobblies were staring at him with great interest.

Just before touching the closed office door, he said with slight censure, "Don't you all have some work to do?"

They shook their heads silently.

"Find some—now."

There was a shocked pause and then suddenly a lot of motion—people returning to their desks, files being pulled, computers being booted up, and notes being transcribed.

That was for Maddie.

David glanced back at Agnes and Bert who was behind the desk with her, both staring at him in surprise. He winked.

He took a moment to discreetly get himself together and put on his game face. Then again, did he even have a face designated for what was about to happen behind this door? Because he had no clue. _~Come on, Add Man. Whatever happens, you'll stuff your guts back in and land light on your feet like you always do. Sometimes worse for wear, but you always bounce back…~_

Bunk it. He rapped on the door and walked in to find her reclining on her couch which was a novelty.

"Heeyyy—Madolyn." He closed the door.

She sighed and slowly sat up in a decidedly non-business-like position with one bare stockinged foot tucked under her thigh, her arm propped on the back of the couch, cheek resting on a fist, watching him.

"Hey yourself." He was looking especially good in his suit this morning.

He walked over and gestured to the spot next to her. "May I?"

She scooted over and resumed her pose while he made himself comfortable.

"So," he began.

"So." She was smiling a little.

Might as well plunge in because she obviously wasn't going to.

"Did you think about last night and what we talked about?"

Maddie sat up a little straighter. "I thought you were going to do most of the talking today."

David wasn't in the mood for dodging replies. "Well, I thought _we_ were going to talk today openly and honestly. Without our usual snark and dialogue gymnastics."

"David, who's being snarky? You were the one who wanted to talk so why don't you start it?"

He stared into her blue eyes, not cold, not hot, not even warm or cool, just—room temperature blue eyes. And David wasn't having that. They'd gone beyond that.

"Okay, let's recap. Maddie, I'm attracted to your body and your mind and I've been wanting to date you since we first met. Can I take you out this Saturday?"

"Sure."

David was taken unawares and looked it when she slipped on her shoes and stood up with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Now…I'm sure we've both got cases to review."

He quickly regained his equilibrium. "Hold it."

She stopped midstride and turned around somewhat reluctantly.

"Maddie honey, I need a little more than that."

She frowned. "A little more than what?"

" _Maddie."_

"What, David? What is it?"

 _"_ 'What is it?' Let me get straight to the point."

Hands in his pockets, he walked slowly towards her and she resisted the impulse to sit at her desk, effectively putting a large piece of polished wood between them.

He didn't touch her but he was further into her personal space than he needed to be while not quite close enough to do anything else without the movement being awkward.

"I want you to tell me how you feel about me," he demanded softly. "What do you feel for me, Maddie? Do you want this as much as I do?" He wanted to close the distance between them but again this was too important. "Do you want me?"

Maddie stood still, hoping he would continue talking so that she wouldn't have to. But instead he did what he did best—among other things—and that was to stare right back, letting an uncomfortable silence stretch into eternity.

"Are we talking about sex?"

"No, we are not."

"Then David, my agreeing to go out with you told you how I felt. I am—agreeable."

"Agreeable?"

"Yes, agreeable."

"That's not quite the same as 'wanting' though, is it? I'm telling you that I feel something special for you _,_ Maddie. Do you feel more than _agreeability_ for me? I need to know before we move on to something mundane like work or chit-chat about the weather. Because it seems to me like I'm the only one whose belly is exposed here. And I'm _not_ _agreeable_ with that."

"I'm hearing some derision in your tone and word choice and I don't appreciate it. You want a declaration of undying devotion before we even start dating? I can't give you that. What I can give you is a 'yes' to going out with you—which I just did. That's what I feel for you."

"I see," he said in a clipped tone. His eyes turned to green frost. "So for you there's just 'okay, sure' and 'undying devotion?' Nothing in between, huh? I realize dating is a beginning for most people, but we've been what _we've_ been for a long time. So yes, we _are_ at that point where this question is relevant and a direct answer is necessary. I can be fearless when it comes to matters of the heart, Maddie—like right now. That being the case, I deserve someone equally fearless. I'm accepting nothing less. So Maddie Hayes— _do you want me?"_

Maddie closed her eyes and breathed in slowly and deeply before opening them again. With a flash of irritation she turned her back to him, hands on her hips, then arms folded, tapping her foot and muttering to herself. He stood there, waiting her out. She interlocked fingers behind her head and exhaled harshly, walking in a circle. She turned back to him just as suddenly and looked him in the eyes like her life depended on what she found there. He swore she must have stared him down for a good three minutes, which felt like ten. And still he stood there, saying nothing, expressionless, waiting her out. Something in the air shifted and looking back at her was like watching a volcano, silent for hundreds of years, slowly building in strength, volume and energy when suddenly ocean blue was filled with exasperated surrender and warmth and…

" _Yes, alright! Yes!_ I am attracted to you, David Addison! I care for you and about you. I want to date you. I want you! I do and I have—for some time now despite that fact that we—"

"Stop while you're ahead! _Com'ere, baby."_

David pulled her into an exuberrant kiss, touching her everywhere with his mouth, his hands, unable to get enough and Maddie was with him all the way. Somehow their amorous wrestling match made it back to the couch without them tumbling to the floor.

He pulled back a little to whisper with a tremor he couldn't hide, "I don't only want you." He squeezed his eyes shut then opened them, took a breath, then let go completely. " _I love you, Maddie_. I think I've loved you since the first time we danced."

There was wonder in her blue gaze. The moments of silence stretched out as they held each other. David didn't mind because he was happy to tell her that. No matter what. He was relieved that he finally said it, that she finally knew it.

"And you picked my pocket," she teased him, a hitch in her voice.

Then it finally came…

"Oh David," she breathed, eyes mistily twinkling. "I think I love you too. I—I _know_ I love you too." She cupped his cheek. "I fought it but I knew it deep down all this time. Now you know it too. I love you, David."

He swallowed and raised his eyes silently to the heavens.

She sniffled a little. "Broken record time because I can't help it. David, you know how we are, how you are, how I am. How are we going to do this?"

He brushed strands of hair from her face fondly. "Oh my doubting Thomasina. We're just going to _do_ it, Maddie. We'll meet in the middle and negotiate the rest. Now, we're still gonna have arguments that rhyme and some good ol' snark. I mean, we wouldn't be _us_ without that, right? Our viewing audience would say we've become OOC characterizations otherwise, which is the kiss of death for us in TV Land, not to mention Fanfic World—(Maddie shuddered)—but don't worry, the edges'll be smoothed over, no blood drawn. Yeah, we're different but we're the kind of different that _fits._ Anyway, like the songs always say, I'll love you for the rest of my life, Madolyn Hayes. And you can take this mini-speech to the bank."

Maddie looked at him dreamily and thought to herself _~Oh what the hell. Take a chance, Maddie! For once in your_ _life, take a chance on loving a good man and letting him love you even if the packaging doesn't fit your preconceived notions…because David Addison is so *very* worth it.~_

She smiled at him saucily. "Ok, mister, let's do it. But we won't be arguing too much."

"No?"

"Not as long as we're doing enough of something _else."_ She winked.

David laughed delightedly. "I'm gonna love you so good! You'll see."

"I think I _am_ seeing, partner. Finally. And now I think you should kiss me."

His eyes turned a deep forest green. "Not even Einstein could think up anything better than that!"

They sank down further into the cushions. Maddie arched and sighed, holding him tight as he bit her neck gently, his firm grip on her hips holding her flush against him.

"Maddie…Maddie, I won't get tired of saying it," he whispered. "I love you, sweetness. I love you…"

"I won't get tired of hearing it," she whispered back. "I love you too….But we're still not taking the Will Lessing case."

They laughed while they kissed. Then there was an insistent knocking at the door.

"Mr. Addison! Ms. Hayes! I just want to let you know that I am going to kill a toad named MacGillicuddy!"

"Oh yeah, mug head?! Well, I'm going to crush a fly named Viola first!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

"Stay away from Agnes, reptile!"

"Lighten up, Francis! You don't have your name stamped on it, do ya?!"

There was a scuffling and bumping on the door as if two grown men were trying to push each other. The Wobblies were all chatting excitedly at once and Agnes could be heard angrily scolding them over the din.

David and Maddie pressed their foreheads together. David groaned and Maddie giggled, stroking his back.

"You want to handle that, Wobbly King?"

He groaned even more dramatically, making her laugh outright.

"I'm gonna _kill_ them for this!"

They sat up reluctantly, the scuffling against the door increasing.

"How about I make it worth your while?" Maddie said. "Take care of that and I'll be waiting here patiently to kiss you senseless."

["Mr. Addison! Ms. Hayes!..."]

He kissed her fingers. "I'll take it. And how about I throw in a pre-date, mini-date tonight? I know a place where they have the best cheeseburgers and fries on the west coast! And pretty good fish sandwiches too, for those of us who are into that sort of thing. You can even lay some encyclopedia facts about the Han Dynasty on me."

["Ms. Hayes! Mr. Addison!...Ouch!..."]

Maddie reclined against the pillows and grinned. "Sounds like an even trade to me."

David leaned over and gave her a swift kiss. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"Be back in this office in five minutes, Addison."

"You're the boss, my lovely lady boss. Bet I'll see you in two!"

~l~u~n~a~r~

THE END...OF A STARRY BEGINNING!


End file.
